That Stabbing Feeling
by DarkQueenofDuels
Summary: Seto Kaiba was cold. He had a heart of ice. But, when the warmth enters his life, it all could melt. SK x OC.
1. Coming Home

_NOTE: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, I just own my OC._

The mountain of papers seemed endless. It was well past five o'clock, meaning only one person was left in the building to tend to the stack. The teenager sat at his desk sorting through the stack, occasionally glancing upward at the clock. 6:52 pm. He sat back in his desk chair and sighed. Running his fingers through his chestnut-colored hair, he stared intently at the clock, as if hoping that the reading of it was false. His deep, yet cold, blue eyes watched the clock, but looked away upon seeing the reading was correct.

He began to put the remaining papers into his briefcase for later that night, but ended up brushing upon the nameplate on the desk. It had two simple words on it, but yet they chimed like the wind. Seto Kaiba_._ Kaiba clicked his silver briefcase shut and stood from his chair. _Mokuba will be worried if I stayed any longer. _

With that thought in mind, Kaiba left his office and headed downstairs to his limo.

~.~.~

Meanwhile, a girl walked briskly around the city of Domino. Her neck was tucked in to keep in her warmth while her hazel eyes stared toward the concrete. A gust of wind blew past her, causing her light russet brown hair to fly up in the breeze and her body to shutter. Winter was only days away, but the weather had already turned bitter.

Particularly, the girl actually liked the cold. Warmth and sunlight were great aspects of the weather, but at times, they could become overwhelming. The same went for the cold as well, but it was slightly more tolerable. She turned another corner and headed for the street on which she lived on. For a moment, she looked up at the road to make sure no cars were coming. Like everyone has told her since she was at least two, she looked both ways. Nothing was present.

She crossed the street quietly and continued staring at the ground. She only looked up again once she saw a limo coming towards her that immediately slammed on its brakes before colliding with her.

Having felt the abrupt and annoying slam on the brakes, Kaiba looked up at the road. Standing in the middle of it, was a teenage girl that was blankly staring at the limo. _Stupid girl. She should know better. _But then he thought; when did anyone know better? To him, most people were just pawns to chip away at his sanity. _They're idiots. _

The girl's cheeks turned a bright crimson as she quickly rushed off of the road so the limo could pass. _Fantastic. You just publicly humiliated yourself. _The girl now started walking faster than she already was and turned onto her street.

The rows of houses looked grey in this weather, no matter the kinds of colors they were painted in. All of them had a particularly nice wealth to them, certainly not a poor neighborhood. The girl stepped onto the porch of her own home, which had the surname _Takahashi _on the mailbox. She unlocked the door and stepped into a familiar setting. She headed up the stairs and stopped at a door that had the name _Sakura _written across it. Sakura remembered writing that as a mere toddler, but unfortunately, was never able to erase it.

Sakura walked into her bedroom and took off her coat, only to be hung up in the closet. Most of her coats were kept in the closet by the door downstairs, but having wearing one of her favorite coats, she always had that one in her bedroom closet. Sakura sat down on her bed and looked around the room. There were a few family pictures here and there, but it lacked pictures of one thing you'd find in a normal teenage girl's room; friends.

As for having friends, it was complicated. It's not that people didn't like her… well, perhaps it was that, but she didn't like them either. Whenever there was free time in school, she spent most of her time sitting at her desk reading or just staring off into space. Such things made her unapproachable. With no one approaching her, she never felt the need to speak with anyone. Such things lead people to the false accusation that she was shy.

_I'm not lonely. _That was one thing she often repeated to herself. Sakura was alone, yes, but not lonely. People were sometimes best if not approached. Sakura sighed upon thinking of the negative things within society.

Sakura stood up and headed back downstairs. She headed into the kitchen and grabbed a box of crackers from the cabinet. She opened it up and began digging in. Luckily for her, her parents weren't home from work yet. It's not about the crackers or that they were bad parents, or that she was a bad child, it was just that sometimes they were bothersome. It almost pained her to call her parents bothersome though. Sakura was quiet and that's what her parents didn't understand. It was almost difficult with their struggle of trying to get her to become more social.

Having realized that the box of crackers was almost finished by this point, she closed it up and put it into the cabinet. She knew crackers weren't an ideal thing to eat, but it was the first thing she saw in the cabinet. They were boring actually, almost how her life was.

Little did she know that things would get exciting soon enough.

~.~.~

Kaiba finally returned home to his mansion and stepped out of his limo. He calmly walked toward the door and stepped inside. One of his maids immediately came to the door to assist him in anything he needed. Kaiba handed her his silver briefcase to put away, while he headed into the living room.

Sitting on the couch was a boy around the age of thirteen. His eyes were a grey-violet color as they scanned the television that featured cartoons. His black hair was long, but not as long as many would remember him having. Kaiba entered the room, and the boy looked up at him. "Seto!" he cried, "I was starting to worry about you."

"I'm fine, Mokuba." Kaiba said in his usual tone. It was one of annoyance, but towards his brother, it was one of compassion, no matter how much his expression failed to show it. He sat down on the opposite end of the couch from his brother and looked at the television. Cartoons weren't something he'd watch; frankly, they almost annoyed him, but if it made his brother happy, he'd tolerate it.

Breaking the silence, Mokuba turned to his brother, "How was work?"

Kaiba grunted, "It would be better if those idiots knew what they were doing."

Mokuba smiled, "Yeah, but that's why you're the boss, Seto! They're not as smart as my big bro to run a corporation like Kaiba Corp!"

Mokuba's words caused a smirk to form on Kaiba's lips. This was even being generous. Any other person would smile at such a comment, but Kaiba wasn't them. If anything, his soft side was only available for the glance of his brother. His heart was not just for anyone to peak at.

**Hey guys I'm back! I've had the idea for this fanfic since like B-BC (abbreviated) and I can finally put it into action. Hopefully the thing didn't sound real emo or anything. Yes, I realize that Sakura is real cliché of me, but I freakin love that name. This fic will take longer to update than my previous ones, but hopefully they'll still be in moderation.**


	2. Tragic Assistance

The wind blew harshly against Sakura's face. _Finally, school is out. _She walked away from the school quickly, but caught some of the students eyeing her. Like always, they're probably why she always left in such a rush. _Simple solution. There's nothing keeping me here._

Sakura headed down the street and turned the corner to see the local middle school just ahead. The middle-schoolers were also just leaving school and were crowding the sidewalks. Sakura crossed the street to avoid the traffic of children and watched as they passed by in their little groups that were almost herd-like.

She glanced away from the children and kept her eyes back in front of her. She watched as a high school student a ways in front of her turned into an alleyway, giving a suspicious glance before entering. Sakura instantly recognized the man of belonging to Rintama High School that was around the outskirts of Domino. Rintama was probably the worst high school anyone could go to in Domino City. The school was notorious for their gangs. There were even rumors that some of the gangs have killed people.

Sakura shuttered just thinking about it. She knew getting involved with them would mean trouble, even if someone was getting hurt already. But, once she passed by the alleyway, she couldn't help but stare. Inside, a gang was punching and kicking at a boy that looked to be around middle school age. The boy then yelled in pain, which was torture to Sakura's ears. _I've got to do something. But what could I possibly do? _Another question then popped into her head.

_Why should I care?_

She pondered this thought for a moment, oblivious to the bullying happening in front of her. Sakura decided to just ignore her question and to take action, "Hey!" she yelled.

The Rintama boys looked up to face her. They slowly walked over to her and stood in front of her, their bodies towering over hers. Sakura was terrified. "Heheh…." One of them laughed, "What are you going to do against us?"

Another boy who had a cigarette in his mouth grinned, "She doesn't look all that tough."

Sakura took a deep breath and tried to control the shaking in her voice, "Leave the kid alone."

The gang heartily laughed. "Ha! What are you gonna do against all of us?"

Sakura took a step back, but remained silent.

"Hmph, whatever. You're not even worth our time. But next time, you won't be so lucky."

The gang laughed as they shoved past her. Sakura couldn't help but sigh of relief. After watching the gang disappears from sight, she turned her attention back to the boy. He lay on the ground unconscious and his long black hair was matted against his head. Sakura rolled his body over so he lay on his back and saw bruises and various cuts along his skinny body. _What should I do? His injuries look bad. _

Just then, she remembered her cell phone was in her bag. _Crap! How did you forget about that! _She quickly took action and fished around her school bag for her phone. Finally, she dug it out with shaky hands. It took a moment, but she finally got her hands to punch in 9-1-1. Sakura drummed her fingers against her knee as the phone rang in a never-ending cycle.

The other end finally clicked and the operator came on the line. "911, what is your emergency?"

The woman's voice was cheerful, as if she was excited at the idea of answering the phone to injured or dying people. Sakura didn't really know how to speak in this situation, but she finally got herself to, "There's a boy lying unconscious in an alleyway. I watched him get beat up by a high school gang. I'm not sure if it's that serious, but…. Could you send an ambulance over?"

"Of course. Where are you currently?"

"In an alleyway on Odori Street. Next to Domino Middle School."

"Alright. We'll send an ambulance right over."

"Thank you."

Sakura hung up her phone and dropped it back into her bag. She turned her attention back to the boy and kneeled beside his body. His breathing was slow as he was just starting to relax from all the trauma.

Inside the boy's mind, one thought rung in his head; _Seto…._

~.~.~

Kaiba sat in his home office, but couldn't focus on his work. It had been at least forty minutes since Mokuba would've been let out of school. He didn't call or anything. Part of Kaiba lead him to believe that it was just after school traffic, but he knew better.

He knew when his brother was in danger.

Just then, the phone next to Kaiba began to ring, so the only logical thing to do was pick it up. "What is it?" he said into the receiver.

"Mister Kaiba," a man's voice spoke. It was Roland; one of Kaiba's top assistants. "I'm afraid I have some terrible news. I went to pick up Master Mokuba from school, but he wasn't there. Please accept my apology."

Kaiba's teeth clenched together. Mokuba was never one to skip class, or was he one for delaying getting out of school. He liked school, but he was more excited to see his brother at the end of the day. No matter how angry Kaiba was at the moment, he managed to keep his cool.

"Roland, I want you to find him right away. Tear the city apart if you have to!"

"Yes, Mister Kaiba. When should we involve the police if he's not found?"

"_When _he's found. The police only need to get involved if he doesn't turn up until nightfall."

"Yes, Mister Kaiba."

Kaiba hung up the phone and sat back in his chair. It was not possible that Mokuba wouldn't be found. He was Kaiba's entire family now. He couldn't live without his brother. The very thought of him being _gone _was insulting.

~.~.~

The ambulance just pulled up and was loading the boy onto the stretcher. Sakura was describing the Rintama gang to the police, but the information given was quite vague, for she only saw them for a matter of seconds. The cop stared at the boy as he was lifted into the ambulance. It was as if the boy was familiar. The officer then put away the notepad, "We'll try to uncover this case but we can't give any guarantees. This was only a case of bullying, not a murder."

Sakura nodded and looked back at the boy as they were about to close the doors to the ambulance. She quickly rushed up to the paramedic who was about to close the doors, "Excuse me," she said. "Perhaps… maybe, could I come to the hospital with him?"

The paramedic looked puzzled, "Only family is allowed in the ambulance."

Sakura's sweat dropped. "I-I'm his sister."

It was an obvious lie. Sakura didn't know why she cared so much for this stranger, but she almost felt compelled to help him. It was hard for her to explain to herself. The paramedic seemed to see right through her lie, but didn't show it. "Alright." He said. "Hop in."

Sakura grinned largely, "Thank you!"

She scurried into the back of the ambulance and sat next to the boy on the stretcher. His expression spoke that he was in discomfort, but also relaxed. The siren atop of the ambulance began sounding and the vehicle drove off.

Sakura watched the boy closely as the ride progressed. Suddenly, the ambulance came to a halt as the ten minute ride to the hospital was completed. Two paramedics came around to the back of the vehicle and opened the doors. They gently dragged the stretcher out and Sakura soon followed.

~.~.~

The phone began the dial tone as Kaiba put his ear to the receiver. "Hello?" the man on the other end spoke.

"Roland, is there any news on my brother?" Kaiba asked.

"Um, yes Mister Kaiba…"

"Well, where is he?"

It was more of a demand than it sounded like a question. Roland sighed, "Well…. We don't know specifically _where _he is…"

"What?! Idiot! How hard is it to locate him!"

"Mister Kaiba… we have a witness account from near the middle school that they saw Master Mokuba being taken away in an ambulance."

Kaiba was stunned. The words _Mokuba _and _ambulance _should never be in the same sentence. Kaiba took a breath and tried to mask his worry with his usual tone, "Which hospital?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out sir. There are only two hospitals in the city; it shouldn't take long to locate which one."

Kaiba nodded, "Call me the second you find anything."

~.~.~

Sakura sat quietly outside of a hospital room. In the past half an hour, the boy has been taken from room to room for the purpose of tests, treatments, and other related things. Right now, the doctors told her to wait outside of a normal room just to check up on him. Questions kept arising within Sakura's mind such as: _who is that boy? Will he be alright? Should I even be here right now?_

"Miss?"

Sakura looked up to see the doctor standing just outside of the doorway to the room. "Is he alright?" she asked.

"Oh yes, he'll be just fine. He just has a few bruises, but it's nothing serious. But, some of his organs were put under stress, so we just want to keep him here overnight so we can be one-hundred percent."

"Is he awake?"

"He'll come to in a minute. You're a relative of his, yes?"

Sakura nodded, "Yeah."

She didn't particularly enjoy lying on occasions, but when necessary, she would do so if needed. "Alright. What's his name? We'd like to start some of the paperwork."

Sakura's face paled. How was she supposed to answer that? Make up a false identity? "Well… I uh…" Sakura stuttered, "I'm not really his immediate family, but they're coming soon. They said that they'd take care of the papers."

Another complete lie. Sakura didn't know if the boy even had family nearby, or if one at all. The doctor eyed her closely, but soon nodded, "Alright, we'll come by in about an hour or so to drop them off."

Sakura watched the doctor start down the hallway and then sighed. _Great, they'll be hunting me down now. _She stared at the open doorway, where the mystery boy lay. _Should I really go inside? Would it be safer to run and have the burden go to someone else? _Without realizing it, Sakura began to walk into the room. It was a simplistic one with white walls and tile. There was a large window overlooking the parking lot and a bathroom off to the left. To the right, was the bed, where the boy was.

Sakura slowly crept up to the bed and stood over the sleeping boy. He now wore a hospital gown and had a few bandages around him. Sakura stood over him just as he was about to open his eyes. They were revealed to be a grey-violet color, which matched perfectly with his dark hair. "Hello." Sakura said softly.

The boy eyed her closely, "Hi. Who are you? Where am I?"

"My name is Sakura. I found you beat up in that alleyway and brought you to the hospital where you are now. What's your name?"

At hearing he was in a hospital, the boy's eyes closely began to scan the room. "It's Mokuba." He smiled, "Thanks for saving me."

"You're welcome. Is there anything you need?"

Mokuba stared off at the wall, "Is Seto here?"

"Who's Seto?"

Whoever this man was, Sakura thought they had a lovely name. _Seto… _It hummed perfectly, but it lacked a face to place it on.

"He's my brother. But don't worry; I'm sure he's already here."

Sakura pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down. "He must really care for you then."

"Yeah. My big bro is the best brother you could possibly have! One time, he rescued me from Pegasus during Duelist…"

Sakura seemed to zone out after that. One thing she couldn't understand was what this kid was doing being kidnapped by Maximillion Pegasus, the rich billionaire that created Duel Monsters. How important was Mokuba exactly? But, from what he was saying, his brother, Seto, really seemed to care for him. Sakura and Mokuba began in a conversation about themselves, but somehow, Mokuba would drift back to the subject of his brother. _He must really want him here._

Sakura glanced up at the clock along the wall. 8:19 pm. _Crap! Mom and Dad must be really worried by now! _"Mokuba," she started

"Yeah, Sakura?"

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. What with my parents and…"

"It's alright. I understand."

"Really?"

"Of course! Just promise me you'll visit again tomorrow."

"No problem. I'll see you then, alright?"

"Yeah. Bye!"

Sakura stood up and waved goodbye. She closed the door behind her and started down the hallway. As she walked, she noticed a man pass her in the hall going the opposite direction. He wore a white suit and his brown hair was neatly part in front of his face. He looked about seventeen or eighteen, which was about her age, which was seventeen. He was walking quite briskly, but tried to walk slower so he kept his dignity. To Sakura, he was gorgeous. Her cheeks tinted red as he passed, but he didn't even acknowledge her.

The man was none other than Kaiba. The secretary at the front desk had hardly been any help to him, so that was just one thing to worsen his mood. He scanned the hallway looking for the room number that his brother was supposedly within. _Three-o- one, three-o-two, there! Three-o-three._

Kaiba opened up the door and peaked inside, "Mokuba?"

Mokuba looked up from his stare out the window, "Seto!" he cried. "You're really here!"

Kaiba walked up to his brother and let Mokuba hug him tightly around the waist. "What happened to you, Mokuba?" Kaiba asked.

Mokuba began to explain the encounter with the Rintama gang and then that he woke up in the hospital. "Yeah, and then I woke up by this girl named Sakura. She's the one that saved me. She's really nice, Seto!"

Kaiba was puzzled as to why a mere stranger would help his brother. But he had to admit… he was intrigued by the means of this girl.


	3. The First Wound

Sakura opened her eyes and sat up in bed. She stretched her arms over her head and yawned. Looking around the room, she noticed the bright sunlight was entering the room through the cracked curtains. Finally, she pulled off the covers and walked downstairs to see her parents. Her father sat at the kitchen table reading the newspaper, while her mother was looking at herself in one of the various mirrors. Sakura was almost a carbon copy of both of them with her hair and eye color. But, to some people's opinions, her eyes held more of a gleam in them while her parent's eyes were dull.

When Sakura got home last night, she had to explain the whole 'Mokuba fiasco' to them. They weren't happy that she came home so late, but realizing that Sakura saved someone (or had any interaction with them for that matter) started the praise. Hoping to avoid that this morning, Sakura slid into the kitchen and past her mother as she eyed her makeup in the mirror. Sakura stood in front of the refrigerator and opened it to grab the carton of orange juice.

But, when she went to grab a glass, her mother noticed her finally. "There's my little hero!" she praised as she squeezed her daughter tightly. Her mother wasn't _always _like this, but for a good percentage of the time.

Sakura's face paled at the sudden affection and wriggled out of her mother's grip. "Mom, it was no big deal." She said pouring her orange juice.

Her mother's eyes narrowed, "Sakura, how is saving a life 'no big deal'?"

"He wasn't dying."

"Yeah, honey, let the girl relax." Her father said from the table. "She knew what she did, just let her praise herself."

Her mother sighed, but patted Sakura on the head anyway. Sakura leaned against the counter and drank her orange juice watching her parents carefully. Her mother went upstairs and brought down a suitcase that was well over-packed, but still zipped up. "Sakura, we'll be home in a few days, alright?" her mother spoke. Sakura nodded. "Be good."

Her father stood from the table and grabbed his coat. Her parents hugged her goodbye, said they loved her, and left. Both of her parents were engineers and were going to another facility on the other side of the country to supervise their production. Such trips only happened every couple of years, but Sakura knew how to fend for herself. Besides, she wouldn't be returning to school for a while because the district was giving them a week off. And today was Saturday.

Sakura sat down at the seat her father was just in and stared at the newspaper and the empty coffee mug and plate of crumbs, which were most likely the remains of toast. The wind blew outside over the small bits of frost on the grass, but still no snow. _Was there something I was going to do today? It was important…_

Her memory then drifted back to last night about Mokuba. She promised to visit today. Sakura sprang out of her seat and looked at the clock. It was just after 7:30. She didn't want to go to the hospital if he was getting discharged soon this morning, so now would be a good time to meet up with him. Sakura ran up stairs and shut her bedroom door and started digging for suitable clothing to wear.

She took off her nightdress and changed into a pair of jeans and an ash-grey sweater. She slipped into the bathroom and started to brush out her hair and teeth. They weren't allowed to wear makeup in school, so Sakura found no point in putting any on just to go to a hospital. She went downstairs and put on her black jacket and boots. Boots were acceptable for the cold weather outside.

Sakura stepped outside and locked the door behind her. She then slipped the house key into her front pocket. Once she was outside however, she wanted to slap herself. _How am I supposed to get to the hospital? I took a taxi last night, but there's not one around here. Perhaps I could walk._

By car, the ride was only about fifteen minutes to the hospital. Walking was a different story. It would take about half an hour if more to get there. _It's a good thing I left early. _The bitter cold nipped at Sakura's face, but she didn't seem to mind it.

Within a reasonable window of time, she finally reached Domino City Hospital. She entered the automatic doors and found heat radiated around the lobby. A smile curled onto her lips. Sakura felt that she didn't need to ask where Mokuba's room was, since she was just there last night. Even if there was the possibility of moving him to another room, it was very slim. As Sakura entered the large reflective elevator, her biggest concern was if Mokuba was already discharged or not.

The elevator finally dinged and she stepped out into the hallway searching for room 303. She finally found it and knocked quietly. "Come in." Mokuba's voice said.

Sakura grinned and opened the door. "Hi Mokuba." She said.

Mokuba looked up at her and smiled, "Hi Sakura!"

He sat on the edge of the bed wearing a long-sleeved blue striped shirt and a pair of jeans. He was currently tying his shoes. "Are you getting discharged soon?" Sakura asked.

"Yep! Seto came here to pick me up, but he ran off somewhere. He should be back soon."

Sakura nodded. She was excited to meet this 'Seto' guy. He sounded really protective and friendly. Until then, Sakura felt the need to start a conversation, but didn't know exactly what to say. "So what are you planning to do once you get home?" she asked.

"I don't know. But maybe I could help… Seto! You're back!"

Sakura looked up to see a man standing there. He wore white pants and a blue dress shirt and held a cup of coffee in his hand, with his other in his pocket. She instantly recognized him as the 'gorgeous stranger' that she saw yesterday.

Kaiba eyed Sakura and looked back at his brother. "Here." He lifted his hand from his pocket and tossed a juice box toward Mokuba. He caught it, but fumbled a bit.

"Thanks. Oh yeah! Seto this is Sakura, the girl who saved me."

Sakura smiled at Kaiba, "Nice to meet you, Seto."

"It's Kaiba." He said stoically taking a sip of his coffee. He hated hospitals, but he disliked their coffee even more. It was bitter and sour, but he would drink it if it meant having coffee for the day.

Something wasn't right to Sakura. Since when did the angel Mokuba was describing suddenly turn into a demon? No matter what it was, Sakura still wanted to try and be friendly, "Okay… Kaiba. I'm just glad I could help your brother. He's a very nice boy."

That last sentence sounded like something her mother would say, but Sakura didn't care. Kaiba looked her over carefully, but felt he knew her from somewhere. He'd never seen her before in his life, but why did her face and slender figure seem so familiar? Then he thought back to the night before Mokuba's accident. _She _was _that _girl.

"You should really learn to cross the street better." He said taking another sip of his coffee.

Sakura was perplexed. "Excuse me?"

"Learn not to step in front of a moving limo."

She remembered now. _He _was the one inside the limo. "Then perhaps you should learn not to drive ninety miles an hour down the street."

This dumbfounded Kaiba. When had anyone ever fought back to him? Make such insulting comments? Never. Kaiba was too powerful to mess with. He knew that. "Shut up." He said.

Sakura was silent as her mind processed this. _God, this guy is… a jerk! _"What did you just say to me?"

"I said to _shut up_. Does your brain not comprehend such simple words?"

Sakura felt her anger boiling up inside of her. She had to resist the urge to slap his coffee right out of his hand. No matter how seemingly beautiful his outside was, his inside was like being stabbed by icicles. "You… who do you think you are?!" Sakura shouted.

Kaiba was shocked. His pale facial features began to tighten. _What did she just say to me? She doesn't know who I am?! Idiot! _"_I'm _Seto Kaiba!"

"So?"

"Ever heard of Kaiba Corp? I doubt it. Your mind can't seem to comprehend what even monkeys can!"

She _had _heard of Kaiba Corp though. Very vaguely though. All she knew was that it was a company that sponsored a Duel Monsters tournament called Battle City about a year and a half ago. "You know, I didn't come here to get yelled at. Believe it or not, but I came here to see _your _brother! You're just… horrible Seto Kaiba!"

Kaiba felt the grip around his coffee tighten until the cup was completely smashed and the brown liquid splashed onto the pure white tile. "Don't spit your insults at me. I don't need them. I hate you, Sakura."

Sakura was stunned. For whatever reason, she was deeply hurt by this. She felt the salty tears well up in her eyes, but didn't allow them to flow. She merely squeezed them shut and walked past Kaiba to the door.

As she walked past him, Kaiba felt something inside of him. Those words he said were false, but he wanted them to be true. He was in her debt, but he didn't hate her at all. Kaiba had expected her to fight back against his comment, but her pained expression said otherwise. He was not ashamed of his words but perhaps… guilty. Once he realized she almost was out the door, he turned around, "Wait. Sakura… wait."

She stopped once her hand was on the knob. She didn't want, or need, to look at him. Kaiba didn't deserve to see her tears. "What?" she croaked.

"I… want to compensate you. For what you did for Mokuba."

Sakura now glanced up at him. _I cannot read his expression. What emotion could that be? Is it…. Regret? No. That arrogant jerk. _"I don't need your money."

"I insist some sort of payment."

"Just… leave me alone."

With that, she stalked out of the room. She quickly got to the elevator just as the tears began to pour. Luckily, she was alone in the elevator. _I hate him. _No matter how many times she repeated that to herself, it felt false.

Kaiba stared at the doorway, as if hoping she would come back. _Why do I think she will? _He sighed and looked back toward the hospital bed, where Mokuba was pouting. He didn't even look his brother in the eye. "What is it, Mokuba?" Kaiba asked.

Mokuba still didn't look at him, "That wasn't very nice."

"She had it coming."

"No she didn't! She's clearly upset, Seto!"

Kaiba nodded, "I know."

But even if he wanted or could apologize, there was no way for him to contact her.

**Mhm, so there you go. This is my Christmas present to you guys. Its defiantly not as cheerful as the holiday season. But, I just want to wish you guys a Merry Christmas!**


	4. Unexpected Invite

Kaiba drummed his fingers along his desk. There was a lot of work to be done on his company, but his mind kept drifting. Reliving that conversation was like being stabbed over and over with the same emotions. Kaiba didn't want, or need, to apologize to her. Even if Mokuba wanted him to, he wouldn't damage his pride to apologize.

Kaiba's pride and dignity were the most important things to him other than his brother and his company. _But, I can't live knowing that I'm in her debt. Somehow, I've got to repay her._

He had the idea to look her up on his computer because he had access to everyone that lived within Domino City. Only he knew how he had access to that. Kaiba hesitated to do so because finding her would be a nightmare. _I don't even know her last name. Besides, I'm not sure if it'll even give me the right person. Wait, of course it will! It's MY system!_

Kaiba began to click over and over onto the keyboard as he searched his system for evidence of Sakura. Within moments, the name _Sakura Takahashi _flashed onto the screen. Kaiba just stared blankly at the screen, but didn't bother to pull up what her address or phone number was. He was certainly not afraid. But, his thoughts kept drifting

_Why does she even deserve my money? I hate her anyway._

~.~.~

_I hate Seto Kaiba. I hate Seto Kaiba. I hate Seto Kaiba! _Sakura kept repeating the same thought to herself for endless minutes, but everything about such a sentence felt so wrong. What other sentence could she say about him? _I love him. Don't be absurd! You expect yourself to fall in love with a stranger that's done nothing but yell at you? Just shut up and stop thinking._

Sakura quietly walked around town and looked up at all of the shops and people passing her. She often walked when she was frustrated. And now seemed like the perfect time for that. She found herself walking near the middle school where she had previously found Mokuba. On Odori Street lied the same alleyway. She looked back at the school and noticed how close, but yet so far away, it was from that spot.

Sakura jumped about a foot in the air when she heard a loud crash. She looked into the alleyway to see a fallen trash can there. _There isn't someone stalking me, is there? _She instantly thought of the Rintama gang that could supposedly be looking for revenge, but she lacked anything they would want. Just to be safe, she ran from the spot until she came onto the next street.

She looked back over the corner of the street to see nothing back there. She sighed of relief and went to turn back on her way.

"Hi Sakura!"

She jumped another foot in the air once she noticed Mokuba was standing right in front of her. "Oops, sorry about that." He said sheepishly.

"Yeah… don't do that again." She informed. "Wait, Mokuba? You're supposed to be resting at home, right?"

"Well… Seto doesn't really know I'm gone…"

"Why didn't you tell him?"

As much as she may have liked to see Kaiba going crazy, she knew Mokuba's safety was more important. She particularly didn't like revenge, nor was she a mischievous type of person, but that guy deserved everything coming to him. "I wanted to come and find you." Mokuba answered.

"Why?"

"I thought maybe you could come over to our mansion tonight. Seto and I are still trying to repay you for saving me, so I thought maybe we could make it up to you by having dinner with us."

Sakura enjoyed the idea of being invited over, but the moment the name 'Seto' came in the conversation, it all turned sour. It was like putting an entire cookie in your mouth, only to find out it tasted like spoiled ranch dressing. "No, Mokuba, I'm sorry, but I think I'm fine at home." She said. "I don't want to bother you or get in your brother's way."

"Oh, you're still thinking about that argument?" Sakura slightly nodded. "It'll be alright. Seto wants to repay you anyways."

"I just… can't. I don't really want to cause any more trouble."

Mokuba gave a puppy-dog face toward her. His innocent little eyes seemed to grow large as he even added a whimper for effect.

Sakura laughed. "Down boy. I guess if it means that you'll stop making that face, then I'll go."

"Yes! Thanks Sakura! How about tonight?"

"I guess so."

"Great. Come over around six."

"Wait, what's your address?"

Mokuba grabbed a slip of paper out of his jacket and scribbled onto it and handed it to Sakura. "Okay, I'll see you then!" he called rushing off.

Sakura looked down at the slip of paper and sighed. _This could be a long night…._

~.~.~

Mokuba rushed home as fast as he could. His first reason was to tell Kaiba of tonight's plans, and his second was to get home before Kaiba so he wouldn't get into trouble. He ran in the door and kicked off his shoes and threw his coat at one of the maids just as he saw the limo pull up. Mokuba ran into the living room and plopped down onto the coach and turned on the television on a random channel.

Kaiba soon entered the room and Mokuba looked up, "Hey bro." he said coolly.

Kaiba nodded. "How do you feel?"

"Better now that I'm home."

Kaiba sat down on the opposite end of the coach and looked at his brother. By the look on his face, he was hiding something.

"Hey bro?"

Kaiba continued to look at him.

"I invited a friend over for dinner tonight."

"Who?"

Mokuba took a breath. "Sakura."

Kaiba's heart stopped. _Sakura? SAKURA?! Why her of all people! _"Why did you do that?" Kaiba asked sounding calm, even though he was internally screaming.

"I-I thought we could invite her as a way to repay her. You seemed pretty stressed over the matter this morning."

"There are other methods of payment."

"But she said that she didn't want our money. What other method could there be?"

_If it meant she didn't have to come over, I'd shove the money down her throat if I needed to._ "We'd find one. Tell her she's uninvited."

"But Seto-!"

"That's enough, Mokuba."

"Seto, please! This could be your chance to apologize to her!"

Kaiba's eyes widened. "What makes you think I _want _to apologize?"

Mokuba was taken aback. He sighed. "If you won't apologize, then fine. But I'm not uninviting her."

Kaiba watched as Mokuba stormed upstairs into his bedroom.

When had he suddenly become the bad guy? Just because he had a different outlook on things? Kaiba shrugged and looked at the wall. _That girl deserves nothing of me. But, for Mokuba, I guess I'll have to like her for one night. Only one._

**Hoora. I'm trying to do Seto's personality the best I can, but I'll admit, its hard putting him in a romantic fanfic. I'm also trying to have it focus more on Kaiba than Mokuba, but that's also a bit hard since they met because of him. Anyways, I'm doing my best, hope ya like.**


	5. Into the Heart

Sakura was shaking. But, she didn't even know how she felt. _Am I scared? Nervous? Excited? _All of them would be suitable emotions for the current situation. She turned to face the clock on her nightstand. It was five o'clock. _One more hour. Just one. _Sakura didn't look anywhere near presentable. She wore a t-shirt and a pair of washed jeans. Luckily, when Mokuba invited her for dinner earlier in the afternoon, he hadn't noticed her attire under her coat.

Sakura hopped off of her bed and walked over to her closet. She nitpicked through her various articles of clothing to try and find something nice to wear. _Would it be formal or casual? I'm leaning toward casual. _She dug a pair of black pants out of her closet along with an azure sweater. She headed into the bathroom and brushed out her long hair until it felt like silk.

Walking back into her bedroom, she peered at the clock again. 5:29 pm. _Is it too early to leave? _She turned to her dresser and found the slip of paper Mokuba had given her with their address on it. Carefully mapping out the city in her head, she realized that it was on the outskirts of the other side of town. If she left now, she'd be able to make it there in time.

She grabbed her coat and slipped on her black boots. Sakura grabbed the house key, along with her cell phone, and left. Walking was her only option to get there. At seventeen, she had her driver's license, but she lacked a car to drive. Her family had a good amount of money and enough to certainly buy another car, but her parents felt that she wasn't ready to drive her own car. They trusted her certainly, but were just worried about her wellbeing. As for the two cars her parent's owned, one was taken to the airport with her parents, while the other was lent to a friend for the week.

Sakura glanced at the slip of paper and realized she was getting close to their mansion. She looked up at a small hill just next to the city where a white and blue mansion stood. She began to make her way up the hill until she reached the gate just before the mansion. She pressed the button on the receiver and waited for someone to answer. A boy's voice came from the speaker upon it, "Who is it?"

It didn't take a genius to know that it was Mokuba's voice. "It's Sakura." She replied.

"Oh yeah! Come right in!"

The gates began to open and Sakura walked inside. Just before the mansion, was a large garden of trimmed hedges, bushes, and the blades of grass were trimmed the finest she's ever seen. Sakura walked the cement road up to the mansion before she reached the doorway. She took a deep breath. _Well, can't turn back now. _She gave a quiet knock and waited for someone to answer it. Seconds later, Mokuba answered it wearing his usual blue striped shirt and jeans. "Hey!" Mokuba said standing aside to let her in.

"Hi." Sakura scraped her boots against the mat and took them off.

One of the maids walked up to her and kindly took her coat to put it away in some unknown closet. Mokuba lead Sakura through the hall and into the dining room. The walls were a blinding white, matching the white tile and the table was a dark wood that had dishes already placed at every spot. There were eight seats at the table, all of which had dishes in front of them, which was strange to Sakura since to her knowledge there would only be the three of them dining tonight. Then she noticed him. At the head of the table, sat Kaiba. He wore the same white pants and light blue dress shirt. He glared at her carefully as she sat down at the other end of the table.

Sakura wondered why he didn't express any hatred in his expression, but he merely looked… bored. Kaiba kept telling himself to show such an expression, but his face wouldn't comply. He was not _trying_ to withstand having Sakura here like he said he would, but rather, he _was _withstanding her. _I feel nothing toward her. _He was never happy, so that was out of the question, but he lacked hatred either.

_Would he stop staring at me like that? Geez, does he think I'm a burglar or something? _Sakura kept her hands in her lap and glanced around the room trying not to watch Kaiba glare at her. After a while, seeing that he kept looking at her, she chose to return the glare. Their glaring had more tension than a volcano struggling to blow its top off.

Mokuba could obviously sense this tension since he was sitting in the middle of the table, and decided to try and break it. "So Sakura, what grade are you in at Domino High?"

Sakura broke her glare at Kaiba, causing him to do the same. "Oh. I'm in 12th grade. We just finished the first semester."

Kaiba almost snorted. He graduated high school a year early so he could focus more on his company. He probably would've been in Sakura's classes is he hadn't done so. _Anyone still in school obviously has lower intelligence than I have. _Mokuba might have fit that category, but Kaiba never directed it toward him. A maid soon came into the room holding plates of food upon the tray in her arms. She placed the plates in front of each of the people present and left.

Mokuba dug right in, while Kaiba and Sakura just nitpicked at their own plates. _This is really awkward. Even more than I originally expected, _Sakura thought.

Kaiba noticed her looking at him for a moment, but she quickly looked away. _That girl needs to find a better hobby. Staring at people like that isn't normal, it's only for stalkers._

Sakura looked at the window behind Kaiba's head to see it starting to snow. Quite harshly, actually. _Great. Now I've got to walk home in that, _Sakura thought. Suddenly, the lights began to flicker and then turned dim.

_Damn it, _Kaiba cursed internally.

He stood from the table and walked to some other part of the mansion. After a few moments, the lights grew bright again and he returned to his seat. Sakura looked at the storm outside and then stood from the table. "I'm sorry, but I think I should be heading home. I'd rather walk home before it gets even worse."

Mokuba swallowed the food in his mouth. "Are you sure?" she nodded. "Okay, well, maybe our limo can give you a ride back."

"No."

Sakura and Mokuba looked up to see Kaiba standing by the window looking at the storm. "It's too dangerous out there. There could be ice too, so you'd probably just get injured. Not that I care of course."

Whatever his mouth had just said, he didn't mean it. _Do I care for her safety? That's ridiculous! I'm Seto Kaiba, I only care about myself and my brother. Nobody else. _Sakura eyed Kaiba closely, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you're not going anywhere. You're to spend the night here. Is it too confusing for you to comprehend?"

Sakura ignored him. Mokuba immediately stood from the table. "Alright! Sleepover!"

Sakura looked back to Kaiba. "Thank you."

"Don't get all sappy on me. I could just as easily throw you out into the cold."

With that said, he left the dining room. Sakura rolled her eyes and glanced to the very excited Mokuba. "Hey Sakura, I've got an idea. Let's go play Duel Monsters!"

"Oh. Okay."

She followed the jumping boy up the stairs and into his bedroom. The walls were painted a bright blue, while the carpet was a shaggy, darker blue. His bed had white sheets across it and video games lined his desk and the television on the other side of the room. Mokuba dug through his stuff and pulled out a deck of Duel Monsters cards. He looked at it disappointed and then looked up. "Seto!" he shouted.

The boy's screeching made Sakura flinch. Kaiba soon rushed into the room. "What's wrong, Mokuba?" he asked.

"I only have one deck. Can I borrow yours?"

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. _He called me over here for this? _"Alright."

Mokuba smiled as he watched his brother walk out of his room and into his own. Kaiba went to the corner of his room and started to unlock his safe. Inside, sat his silver briefcase. He pulled it out and opened it to find his Duel Disk and deck. He grabbed his deck and returned to Mokuba's room and held it out to his brother, "Here."

"Oh, I'm not using it. Sakura needs it."

Kaiba felt like he wanted to yell. _SHE is going to use my deck? No stranger even deserves to glance at such a perfect deck! _Kaiba growled and held it out to Sakura. She could see the hatred in his eyes, but took it anyways. Kaiba went to walk out of the room, but instead, sat down in a chair across from the duo.

_Does he really need to supervise me? _Sakura was snapped from her thought when Mokuba spoke, "So, how much do you know about the game?"

Sakura thought for a moment, "I know all the basics. I used to play this in middle school."

She never had a deck of her own, but sometimes, the other kids at school would let her play. Not because they wanted to play with her, but because they enjoyed watching her lose each time. It still stung just thinking back to it on how the kids would laugh at her. But, she had managed to get better at the game over time and beat them a couple of times. Sakura could hear her giggling at her win from that time.

"Alright, well that's good enough for me!" Mokuba said.

He began to his shuffle deck while Sakura shuffled hers, or Kaiba's, for that matter. They both placed their decks on the floor and drew their five cards. Sakura looked over the cards in her hand and then stopped when she saw one of them. She had never heard of it before, but it looked powerful judging by its attack and defense. She picked it up from her hand and turned it to face Mokuba, "Hey, what's this card?" she asked.

Mokuba smiled. "Oh! That's my brother's favorite card! It's called the Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

Kaiba clenched his hands into fists, _how dare she touch my Blue-Eyes. _Sakura turned it back so the picture faced her again. The white dragon's blue eyes seem to shimmer, even though it was merely ink on paper. _It's beautiful, _she thought to herself.

She couldn't help but glance toward Kaiba to see the discomfort written across his features. The duel between Mokuba and Sakura then began. Even to her own surprise, she was somehow able to summon Blue-Eyes and dominate Mokuba's monsters. Mokuba counted in his head, "Dang, I'm down to zero. You win, Sakura."

Sakura smiled and began to put Kaiba's cards back into his deck. "Nice duel, Mokuba."

He smiled back and began to put away his own cards. Kaiba smirked at her win. _Hmph, even an amateur duelist can win with such a perfect deck. Maybe she's not that bad after all. _Kaiba looked up to see Sakura standing in front of him with his deck in her soft hands. Her innocent, and possibly cute features he thought, smiled at him. "Kaiba?" she said. "You can take your deck back now."

He nodded and took it from her. In the process, his hand brushed against hers. A strange feeling ran through Kaiba's body. It was a warm and gentle feeling. It made his nerves tingle and he almost enjoyed it. He shook himself to rid of the feeling and left to place his deck back into his safe.

_What was that feeling? It could certainly not be that childish thing called… love._

**Yay for Kaiba! Just for the heads-up, I think this fic might have about fifteen chapters, unless I get an annoying demand for more chapters, then I may comply. And I really wish I had snow right now like in the fanfic, I miss the cold white snow (haven't gotten any this winter).**


	6. Fire or Ice?

"No, sorry. Go Fish."

Mokuba smiled as Sakura looked over her hand. "Do you have any fours?" she asked.

Mokuba sighed, "I've got two…"

Sakura giggled as he handed them over, "That's another set for me."

They sat on the floor of the living room playing Go Fish for the fifth time. Mokuba won three times, while Sakura won the other. Being still young, Go Fish was one of the simplest and most enjoyable games to Mokuba. Like his brother, he loved games, but they both preferred card games to all others. Sakura and Mokuba have been facing off with each other in various games for the past two hours. As they played, Kaiba sat at one of his desks and typed away at his computer listening to them. "Alright, got any queens?" Mokuba asked.

"One." She replied. "Got any kings?"

"Aww, I've got three!"

Sakura put another set onto her pile as Mokuba went to draw from the deck. "We're out of cards." He said.

"Who wins then?"

Mokuba counted his piles and then Sakura's, "You do."

Sakura smiled and the two of them thanked each other for playing; it was only proper to do so. Kaiba glanced up from his work at the two of them. _I'm surprised she beat Mokuba at some of these games. He's certainly no pushover. But, she would never be a worthy opponent for me, she'd lose too easily. _

Kaiba looked at the clock to see it was almost ten o'clock. "Mokuba," he started, "time for bed."

"Aww… Seto can't we stay up later?"

"No. You need rest."

Mokuba frowned and did another one of his 'puppy faces', "Can we at least watch a movie?"

"Yeah Kaiba, how much would one movie hurt?" Sakura said.

Kaiba looked between Sakura and his brother's continued puppy face. Kaiba swore that he was 'Mokuba proof' after all these years, but alas; he still had a soft side for his brother. Kaiba sighed, "Fine, one movie."

"Yes!" Mokuba cheered, "I'm gonna go make some popcorn!"

The boy dashed into the kitchen, leaving the two teenagers alone in the living room. Sakura began to put the playing cards away as Kaiba returned to his work. Sakura glanced up at Kaiba, "Are you going to watch the movie with us?" she asked.

"I'm busy." He said as he continued typing.

"You can't stray from your work for one night? Or should I get Mokuba back in here to convince you?"

Kaiba sighed. _I've had enough of his puppy faces for one day. _He saved his work and began to shut off his computer, "Fine."

Mokuba rushed back into the room as they could hear the microwave running in the kitchen, "The popcorn isn't going to be ready for another few minutes. Oh yeah. Sakura! If this is a sleepover, then we've got to get some pajamas!"

_His spirit is certainly different from his brother's. _"Uh, well, is there a guest room that I'm staying in or is-?"

"Of course there's one! Come on, I'll show you!" Mokuba began to run toward the stairs, but then turned back toward the living room, "Hey Seto! This is a sleepover, get your pajamas too!"

Sakura couldn't help but silently laugh at the boy's persistence and anxiousness. Kaiba stood from his desk chair and began to grumble all the way up the stairs to his bedroom. Mokuba ran up the stairs after with Sakura right behind him. He took her to a room that was to the left of Mokuba's room and Sakura could see that Kaiba was entering his bedroom at the end of the hall.

"Here ya go!" Mokuba said opening the door.

"Thank you." Sakura said walking inside.

Mokuba nodded and rushed back to his bedroom. Sakura shut the door and looked around. The room was almost a carbon copy of Mokuba's; everything still either blue or white. _Kaiba must really base a lot of this around that one Duel Monsters card he loves. _Just then, Sakura realized something; _I don't have any pajamas._

She looked around the room and into drawers, but to find nothing. She exited her room and headed for Mokuba's room and knocked. Mokuba answered it already wearing his pajamas, which were just a white t-shirt and a pair of grey bottoms. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Sorry, but I forgot that I don't have any pajamas." She said sadly.

Mokuba looked heartbroken. It was like his entire night was ruined by a simple sentence. He quickly made a dash for his brother's room, leaving Sakura in the hallway. After hearing him and Kaiba yell at each other, Mokuba soon emerged from his brother's room with a smile planted happily back onto his face. He handed something out to Sakura, "Here, these are Seto's. He said you could borrow them."

Sakura raised an eyebrow and took the item and headed back into her room. She shut the door and looked at the bundle. They were simple dark grey pajama bottoms that felt purely like luxury fluffiness. She removed her sweater to reveal a white tank top and then folded her sweater and placed it on the corner of her bed. Next, she removed her black pants and slipped on Seto's borrowed ones. Obviously, they were too long on her and too wide, so she used the drawstring to help control that, but they still sagged.

Sakura's cheeks tinted red when she looked at herself in the mirror. It was weird enough using someone else's pants, but a _guy's _pants was just… embarrassing. _This is going to be so awkward. _She emerged from the bedroom and headed back downstairs into the living room to find Kaiba sitting on one end of the couch wearing a light grey t-shirt and a pair of long dark blue bottoms. She heard Mokuba fussing in the kitchen over the popcorn. Sakura sat on the other end of the couch and brought her knees up to her chest. _Great, now the guy that I took his pants from is staring at me. _Mokuba soon came from the kitchen holding a large bowl of popcorn, "Scoot over Seto!" he demanded.

Kaiba's eyes narrowed and he moved to the middle of the couch, meaning he was right next to Sakura. This just increased the awkward tension between the two. Mokuba turned on the television and some kind of action movie began to start. Everyone sat in silence as explosions kept going off on the screen and the actors kept cursing under their breath.

After almost two hours, the movie was almost done. After the sound of another gunshot from the movie, Sakura opened her eyes. _Darn, I must've fallen asleep. Wait, what am I leaning against? _Sakura noticed she was still in a sitting position and noticed Mokuba was fast asleep on the floor with the bowl next to him virtually empty. She lifted her head to feel something hard hit her head and she looked over. Looking straight back at her in shock, was Kaiba.

Their heads were just inches apart. _I was sleeping against him?!, _Sakura yelled internally. Kaiba was just as surprised. _Darn it, why did I let myself fall asleep?, _he cursed himself. "I… uh… I'm sorry. I-I guess I'm just tired." Sakura said.

She glanced away from Kaiba's eyes to see that the movie was reaching the sappy ending. Kaiba grunted as he turned off the television, leaving them all in the darkness. "Then I suggest you sleep in your own room."

"R-right."

She stood up in the darkness and tried to find a light source nearby. It was all pitch black. She didn't notice how jumpy she was, but the next thing she knew, she had tripped over the coffee table. She let out a small yelp as she hit the carpet. "What's wrong?" Kaiba's voice asked.

"N-nothing. I just tripped."

Kaiba flicked on the light switch and snorted once he saw her lying there. "Get off the floor. You look pathetic."

To both of their surprise, Kaiba grabbed her arm and pulled Sakura up to her feet. That same tingling feeling shot through his body again as he touched her. His hand still lay enclosed around her wrist as her face turned bright crimson. "Uh, Kaiba, I-I'm fine now." She said.

He hadn't realized his hand was still there, but he immediately dropped it back to his side. He walked over to the still-sleeping Mokuba who was shielding his face from the light. Kaiba took his little brother into his arms and then nudged Sakura toward the stairs. She shook herself and started to climb the steps with Kaiba right behind her as the lights shut off again. Sakura stopped at her bedroom door as Kaiba went into Mokuba's room to lay him down. Once he came back, Sakura still watched him walk to his own room. "Goodnight… Kaiba." She said softly.

He merely stopped and glanced at her before grunting and disappearing into his room. Sakura walked back into her own room and collapsed onto the bed. In the darkness, she blushed again thinking back to that moment. She shook her head. _No, that man would be impossible to love._

Kaiba closed his door behind him and ran his fingers through his hair. _When had I started acting nice to her? What lead me to do that? _He sighed and sat down on his bed. She was like pure flames to him; dangerous, but also pleasant. She was warm, but off limits to the ice inside of him. He would easily melt. Although, he began to think of himself if he was the fire, rather than the ice. He could be happy again like in his childhood and be a bit nicer of a person. The more he thought about it though, the colder the ice seemed to grow. _That's impossible. Gozaburo planted the ice there himself, it's impossible to shake from it. No matter what I try, it will not leave._

_I am the ice. Cold, stoic, and unmovable. I will extinguish the flames for good. Sakura needs to get out of my life… before she changes me._


	7. What's to Come

Sakura opened her eyes and rolled over in bed. She sat up and stared at the clock upon the nightstand. It was seven o'clock. She stretched her arms toward the ceiling and threw the covers off. She slid off the bed and threw the covers over the sheets so it looked somewhat neater. Sakura walked over to the large window and looked down at the snow that lay across the grounds. There had to be _at least _a foot and a half. _Getting home is going to be a nightmare._

Realizing how cold the room felt, she quickly grabbed her sweater off of the corner of the bed and put it on. Looking down at the rest of herself, she remembered she was wearing _his _borrowed pajama pants. The pants were cozy and fluffy inside, unlike how Kaiba always acted. He was cold and it was like coming into contact with a metal wall. But, Sakura's mind drifted back to last night. _He actually helped me. And he acted quite nicely. It was so sweet of him. _But then she thought back to how his normal personality had come back as quickly as it changed. She sighed, _it'll be impossible to change him._

Sakura hastily took off the pajama bottoms and put back on her black pants. She grabbed the pants and neatly folded them and held it gently in her arms. She walked out of her room and looked down the hallway to the bedroom that she remembered Kaiba entering the past night. Sakura reached the closed doorway and knocked quietly. There was no answer. She peeked into the room to find it empty and slipped inside.

The room was truly the definition of a master bedroom. It was huge with the elegant blues and whites clashing, but yet was organized between the sheets, carpet, walls, and curtains better than you'd find any other room. There was a balcony in the back, which was currently covered in snow. The dresser and headboard of the bed were each curved of a dark wood that went perfectly with the color scheme. Off to the side, was a bathroom, but the door was closed. To the side of the room was a desk that held a computer and a multiple stacks of papers. Sakura could not help but wander across the bedroom's beauty.

Her eyes soon met with the nightstand. It held a digital clock and a picture frame. She picked up the photo to see it was one of Kaiba and Mokuba. Of course, they were both years younger. The two of them hugged each other in a warm embrace as they stared toward the camera. Mokuba looked to be about five and wore a green shirt, while Kaiba seemed around ten and wore a yellow shirt and a sweater vest. The best part of it that Kaiba was actually smiling. _He has a pretty cute smile as a kid; it'd be nice if I knew what it looks like today._

"Can I help you?"

Sakura whipped around to see none other than Kaiba standing in the doorway. He clutched a cup of coffee in his hand and wore all black with blue belts wrapped around his arms and shins. Unlike his usual attire, it lacked his white trench-coat. Sakura's face flushed and gently sent down the picture, "I-I'm sorry. I just came to return these." She held out the pajama bottoms in his direction.

Kaiba took a swig of his coffee and glared at her. _First she tries to get into my soul, and now she's looking through my stuff. This girl is not worth being around anymore. _"Leave them on the bed." He demanded. She complied. "Now I suggest you leave."

Sakura nodded, "Yeah, I should've been snooping anyway."

She began to head to the door, before he stopped her. "I'm not saying for you to leave _just _my bedroom. I'm referring to my mansion."

Sakura's jaw almost dropped, but she nodded in response anyway. _I should've known he'd do something like this. _"You're right. I guess I've already overstayed my welcome."

Kaiba sipped his coffee again. "Clearly."

"I guess I'll be seeing you then."

"I highly doubt it."

"Of course. Goodbye Kaiba." She tried to hide the pain in her voice as she left the room.

He sensed the pain within her as she left. _Should I have acted that way? _His eyes narrowed. _Of course I should've. She should have never gotten in my business in the first place. _Kaiba looked to the picture Sakura was looking at and strode over to it and picked it up. His young, smiling face looked back at him. The photograph was taken sometime when they were in the orphanage, before they had come in contact with their now late stepfather.

Just thinking of Gozaburo brought back the torment that he held so closely near his heart. Gozaburo Kaiba was like an ash cloud: contaminating and killing everything in its path. Kaiba's thoughts wandered back to the physical and mental abuse caused by that man, where he could still feel the lashings after all these years. Everything felt then was the reason why he acted so coldly today. No matter how much he had longed to change himself within that time gap, the icy seed had already bloomed and was nearly impossible to cut. _I'm not that same boy I was. I don't want to be caring, warm, and selfless like he was. I've grown up. I'm truly cold, and my transformation has long passed from that boy. But… with Sakura… should I risk melting and becoming that person again? _Kaiba shook his head. _Never again._

~.~.~

Sakura trudged through the snow briskly and mutely. She took another step through the deep snow and almost yelped. _Ugh, I got more snow in my boots, there's just too much! _The frozen substance slid into her boot and began to melt against her already cold foot. Her mind soon drifted back to how alike the snow and Kaiba truly were. Each frozen object would just collapse on you in heaps and would threaten to nearly kill anyone with such attitudes.

She finally reached a sidewalk that wasn't covered in a foot of snow and stomped her boots onto the pavement. Only a few flakes of snow shed onto the ground, for most of it had already melted and was soaking her socks. A stalking feeling soon came over Sakura. She turned around, but to see only the snow and brick walls of the buildings around her. She sighed and continued to walk. Sakura turned a corner and collided with someone else. She looked up to see a man standing in front of her and her sweat dropped. _Oh no, he's wearing a Rintama uniform._

"S-sorry." She said quietly. She went to walk past him, but he block her way.

The man didn't even look like he was a high school student. He was tall with very small visible wrinkles and had his blue hair tied back into a short ponytail. The man looked at her and then gave her a menacing grin. Before she realized it, she felt a hard slap come across her face.

Sakura gasped and held her face while she stared up at the man.

"An apology isn't good enough for running into Hirotani." He said.

She remained silent as she stared at him.

"Wait… I know who you are. Yes, you're that girl who interfered with my gang's work. Getting in our way comes at a high price."

Sakura swallowed, "P-please, I don't want any trouble."

Hirotani laughed. "I'm afraid it's a bit late for that, my dear."

"W-what do you want from me?"

"Hehehe… Revenge. No one messes with me or my gang and lives."

Sakura's eyes widened. _Please, don't hurt me!_

Hirotani laughed again. "Oh, that look on your face is priceless. Fear suits any good victim."

"Just please, leave me alone."

"For now, I will. But, that's only because there are too many witnesses around here. You won't be so lucky next time. For your sake, we better not meet again."

Sakura nodded.

"But, for now… here's a little foreshadowing…"

Sakura looked up only to be punched in the face. Any other person probably would've hit back, but Sakura wasn't one for violence. Sakura held her face as it stung like she'd just been hit with a frying pan. As she touched her face, she noticed nothing was bleeding or broken luckily. Hirotani let out a hearty laugh as he walked past her down the street. Sakura pressed her fingers to her bruised nose and flinched at the pain.

_I'm so dead. I'm never going to be able to stand up to a guy like him._

~.~.~

Kaiba sat in his room staring into space. Lucky for him, Mokuba was not yet awake to get upset over him casting Sakura out of the house. He knew how much Mokuba liked his new friend and he wouldn't want to feel the wrath of his brother again for his actions. The more he thought about Sakura, the more it pained him though. He tried to shake from this feeling, but it remained.

_Maybe I shouldn't have acted that way toward her. No, that was necessary; Sakura shouldn't have been looking through my stuff. But then why do I feel this way? It's as if every time I expose her to my cold side, I soon regret it._

_I'll hate myself surely, but I've got to see her and make it up to her._

**It's my birthday, so this is my present to you and myself! And this is also the first birthday I've spent as a member on Fanfiction, so I'm just happy to be able to write these things and for you guys. By the way, Hirotani and his gang were actually real in season 0. At first, I wasn't sure if I wanted to include him, but I realized that it was pretty important. **


	8. Unseen Secrets

_I'm going to die. They're going to find me and surely try to kill me. _Sakura rocked back and forth on her bed staring into space. Ever since that morning, she'd shut herself in her room in fear. She had cried for a few minutes at a time, but has so far remained enough strength not to. Though it was difficult. Sakura sat wearing her pajamas in an attempt to relax herself, but was unsuccessful. No matter how soft and fuzzy they were against her skin, her body still shook.

_Should I contact the police? Tell them about Hirotani's threat? _She was stunned to even say his name mentally. The very thought of them terrified her. _Alright… should I tell the police about them? No. I've seen them try to deal with them before. Even the police are terrified of such ruthless gangs. I'm on my own._

Thinking of being alone in such a situation made her even more frightened. She thought of how her parents would come home from their trip only to see the dead body of their daughter somewhere in their house. They would be even more depressed if they never knew who had killed her. Sakura hugged her legs closer to her chest and felt tears well up in her eyes again. She tried to stop herself, but then she began to sob. It was a silent sob, but it felt loud to her. _I'm going to die! And nobody can help me!_

Just then, she heard the sound of the doorbell ring. She wiped her tears and stood from her bed and headed to the stairs. Once she was about to go down the stairs though, she froze. _Oh God! Oh God! What if it's… them? Somebody, anybody, stop them! _Sakura went to run back into her bedroom as the knocking continued on the door. Before she reached the handle, the person yelled, "Sakura!"

Sakura instantly recognized the voice. She sighed of relief to hear that it wasn't _them. _She slowly walked down the stairs and reached the front door. She unlocked it and peered outside, "Kaiba?" she croaked.

Kaiba sensed from her voice that she had been crying. _Certainly it wasn't because of me though… right? _"You could have the hospitality to invite me in." he replied.

She nodded and opened the door enough so he could walk inside. He entered the home and looked around. _Well, she definitely isn't poor. _The house was simple, but still had much of middle to first-class value. Kaiba now looked to Sakura and noticed she stood in her pajamas and had tears stinging her eyes and dried ones across her cheeks. "What's bothering you? You look awful." He said.

Sakura did admit she looked horrible, but to have someone say that was a bit insulting. _Should I really tell him about them? _She shook her head to herself. "It's nothing. You don't need to worry about it."

Kaiba knew he was being lied to. It was one of his various and fascinating talents. But, he merely stared at her. _What's the point of even coming here? I almost can't even bear the thought of seeing her like that._

"Kaiba?" he looked to Sakura. "I just asked you why you came here."

_Damn, I expected this question, but I never had an answer. Why did I even bother to come and see her? Was it just for the pleasure of seeing her again? No, I would never say that to her face, or anyone else. I can barely accept it myself. You're Seto Kaiba, you can come up with an excuse. _Kaiba cleared his throat and straightened his stance. "I came to give you the money for saving Mokuba. I insist that I give you payment."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "I already told you, I don't need your money."

He knew she'd say that. Kaiba didn't have anything left to say.

"Now Kaiba, I think it wise that you leave my home. I require nothing of you."

For whatever reason, this pricked at his heart. Perhaps now he felt the same sorrow Sakura felt when he threw her out of his own home. But the thought of leaving her again hurt him. Kaiba, being the man he is, masked this pain with his normal expression. It was often used. Sakura eyed him and was puzzled as to why he remained so silent.

"Kaiba?"

"Sakura… at the very least, Mokuba never got to say goodbye. I know it would mean a lot to him if you came and said so to him. It is merely an offer."

To Kaiba, this had nothing to do with Mokuba, it was just for him. He hated feeling so weak, but his chest was constricted in a way he couldn't describe. He noticed the way Sakura looked at him; she looked scared, but also confused. Sakura took a deep breath. _Do I dare go out of the house and risk running into that gang? Why is Kaiba doing this anyway? I feel that it's more than just his brother though. _"Um… I-I'm not sure, Kaiba." She said. She couldn't control the shaking of her fear. "I-I think I'd rather stay home. You can just tell Mokuba I said goodbye."

Kaiba could sense her fear. "What are you afraid of?"

Sakura froze. She opened her mouth to reply the 'it's nothing' response, but stopped herself. _He probably won't leave me alone until I agree to his offer. _"W-well, maybe I could go for a little bit. I'd like to be home by nightfall though."

"Then I suggest you get dressed."

Sakura looked down at herself and her cheeks turned bright pink. "Yeah, just give me a second."

She ran up the stairs leaving Kaiba by the door waiting. She dashed into her room and started picking through her closet. She put on a pair of washed jeans and a black shirt where the sleeves went below her elbows. She combed out her hair and headed back downstairs to put on her coat and boots. Seeing that she was ready, Kaiba opened the door and headed outside. Sakura walked outside behind him, but turned toward the door to lock it. She looked to the driveway to see a limo pulled up which Kaiba now stood by. She walked up to him as he slipped inside of the vehicle, and she followed.

The limousine began to drive off and the two passengers merely stared out the window. Kaiba sat with his arms folded and tapped his foot silently. _Why did I even bother inviting her here again? She's dangerous to me. She's the complete opposite of what I am inside. But… what exactly is she hiding?_

Sakura stared out of the opposite window. She watched the city go by in the frozen weather. The vehicle stopped at a red light, making things more visible to see. She noticed an alley by the red light and peered through the window to see _them _standing there. They turned around and faced the window. Sakura almost screamed, but seeing that the windows were tinted, she realized they wouldn't see her. _If they did see me, I can't imagine what would happen… _She shuttered just thinking about it.

Kaiba noticed this and turned to her. "What's wrong?"

The light turned green, so the limo continued to drive down the street. Sakura didn't hear Kaiba, so she still stared out the window, glancing back at the gang. Kaiba looked out her window, but didn't see anything. _It was probably just her flimsy imagination. _

Within good timing, they had reached the mansion. Kaiba stepped out first with Sakura closely following him. They walked to the entrance of the mansion and walked inside. The home looked exactly the same as it did the last Sakura had been in it. But, it had only been this morning. A maid rushed to the door and took both of their coats as they dismissed their shoes. Kaiba looked up to hear someone run down the stairs, but he didn't need to figure out whom, for he already did.

Mokuba ran down the stairs seeing that his brother was home, "Seto! You're back! You're-!"

He stopped short when he saw Sakura standing next to him. "Oh hi, Sakura. What are you doing here?"

Sakura glanced up at Kaiba to see him avoid both of their gazes. Confused, she turned back toward Mokuba. "Kaiba said you wanted to see me." She answered.

Mokuba was just as confused. Why would his brother lie about him? He looked to his older brother to see Kaiba's cold stare reflecting back at him. Mokuba was not one to disobey his brother, even if he wasn't sure of his motives, so he played along. "Oh yeah…" he glanced to his brother again. "I just was upset that… I didn't get to see you this morning."

Sakura could see his hesitation as it left his tongue. She knew something was off about this whole thing, and it almost scared her. But, being the person she is, she went with it. "Oh, alright. Well, I'm here now."

"Yeah, we were just about to have dinner. You can come and join us."

~.~.~

After their meal, the trio sat in the living room. Sakura and Mokuba were watching television while Kaiba sat and worked on some files relating to his company. Sakura held her body close to herself and tried to relax, but somehow her mind kept drifting back to her threats from the gang. _What if this could be the last time I see Kaiba and Mokuba? No, don't think like that. All you have to do is avoid the gang, and you won't die. But… I'm still scared. _"Sakura? Are you alright?" Mokuba asked.

Sakura looked up to see worry on the boy's face. "It's nothing." She said.

Kaiba looked up from his desk and stared between the two. He looked to the window at the other end of the room to notice night had taken over the day. "Mokuba," his brother looked at him. "I think it's time for you to head upstairs. Sakura will be leaving momentarily."

Sakura thought at first that he was kicking her out again, but then looked to the window and remembered saying that she wanted to be home by nightfall. And it was well past that. Mokuba nodded and stood from the couch. "Goodbye Sakura." He said.

"Bye Mokuba." She replied.

He began to walk upstairs as Sakura walked to the doorway. Kaiba stood from his desk and followed her. The maid returned her coat as she began to slip her shoes on. Sakura looked to the glass panel by the door and saw the deep darkness outside. Her first thought when she saw it was of Hirotani's gang. The night was a perfect time for them to strike. Kaiba could sense her fear even if she made no move to expose it. "What is wrong with you?" he asked. "Don't lie to me."

Sakura turned and looked at him. _What am I supposed to say? I can't just expose him to such a terrifying truth. He wouldn't even care anyways. _"It's just… the ice outside. I'm worried I could slip on it in the dark."

_She's lying. It's too obvious to tell. But if she won't give me a straight answer, then it'd be best not to ask again. But… _Kaiba reached into his shirt pocket and held something out to Sakura. She stared at it a moment before she took it from him. "It's my business card." He informed. "Just call us if you need anything."

Sakura looked at the card carefully. "Th-thank you."

He nodded and watched her walk out the door. Once again, he just let her walk out without any sort of good remark from him.

Sakura shoved the business card in her pocket as she walked home. She enjoyed how 'nice' Kaiba had been in the past few hours. She loved things about him like his strength, his voice, and, of course, his good side. But there were things she also hated about him like his ego, temper, and his bad side. There was a dividing line between the two and she didn't know whether to simply love or hate him.

**This chapter was probably filler over everything else. You know, just setting up for the stuff in the next chapter *evil grin*. Probably shouldn't have told you guys that though… Anyways, Happy New Year! Or Eve. Just seven more hours until 2015.**


	9. Deceitful Suffering

Sakura woke with a start at the sound of a loud noise. She peered around the bedroom only to find nothing. Sakura looked down at herself to see that she had been sleeping in her clothes. _I must've been tired. The last thing I remember is coming home and then laying down. _She turned toward her clock on the nightstand. 2:01 am. She sighed and lied back down. Pulling the covers up to her chin, she slowly drifted back to sleep.

Sometime later, she awoke again. The clock read 2:09 am. Sakura threw the covers off and stood up. _What could that noise be? It sounds like it came from downstairs. _She walked over to the door only to hear the sound again. She walked out into the hallway and stood at the top of the stairs. Sakura looked to the front door to see that that was the source of the noise. _Who could be here at this late at-? Oh no. I'm dead! I'm dead! I've got to get help! _She ran to her bedroom and dug around to find her cell phone. She got it out of her school bag, but panicked at seeing the battery was dead.

_My only hope is to get the phone downstairs. _She swallowed hard at the very thought of it. That would mean getting closer to the supposed intruders. Sakura mustered up her strength and hastily ran down the stairs. She had tripped over a few steps and landed painfully at the bottom of the stairs. Normally, she would've just laid there until the discomfort and laziness had passed, but now was not the time for that. She went to stand up, but whipped around to see one of the windows break. _No, no, no! Please, no!_

Four dark figures climbed through the window and looked around. Sakura yelped and scurried toward the backdoor, or at least the phone. She reached the phone in the living room and ripped it from the receiver just as the four men had surrounded her. Sakura opened her mouth to scream, but one of the men spoke first.

"Make a sound and you'll die sooner."

~.~.~

Kaiba sat at his computer pulling an all-nighter. He typed vigorously across the keyboard until he paused for a moment. He ran his slender fingers through his brown mat of hair and stared at the lines of words across the screen. His eyes soon wandered over to the phone. _I guess I gave her my card for nothing. She hasn't called, so I assume she's fine. But still, she seemed so frightened today._

His thoughts drifted to that of Sakura's teary expression from earlier that day. It pained him. But, if she had been that upset, then what kind of issue was she dealing with? _Perhaps it was some sort of family issue. Nothing I should get concerned over. _But, as Kaiba thought that, the more he felt it was more serious.

_She was even scared to leave her own house. And that look she made in the limo… _Kaiba shook his head. _I shouldn't care. Even after what she's done, I still barely know her. Sakura isn't worth my time anymore. _The more his mind began to drift from her though, the more his heart longed for her. His heart had not been used for anything except to circulate his blood until now. Kaiba shook himself to rid of such thoughts, and his heart's feelings shut down. _I don't need her._

~.~.~

Sakura was panicking on the inside, but outside she looked slightly calmer. Hirotani and three of his gang members stood right in front of her. They looked even more threatening and fearsome in the night than they did in broad daylight. They were the predators of the night, while Sakura was none other than the prey. Scared and unsure of the unknown future that they may or may not live to see.

_I've got to stall for time. If I can keep them busy, then that'll give people time to save me before I'm dead. _Sakura silently cleared her throat to speak, "H-how did you find me?"

The gang laughed. "You're not that hard to follow."

Sakura cursed herself for not being more careful over that. She knew they'd follow her at some period of time. Trying to keep herself calm, she kept talking. "W-why do you want to kill me?"

Hirotani spoke this time, "Nobody makes our gang look like a bunch of fools. You've interfered with us long enough. Besides, Domino High students are our favorite victims."

"Bu-but I've only run into you twice."

"That's too many for us."

Hirotani snapped his fingers and the other three gang members moved closer to her. Sakura went to run away from them, but they held her back. They began to beat her down to the ground as she yelled in pain. The gang kicked and punched at her frail body as Hirotani looked on. Sakura screamed as she tried to shield her body with her arms. Much to her surprise, she looked up and noticed that the gang had stopped.

Her body ached, but she didn't feel injured. At least, not to a severe degree. She searched the gang's faces to see them looking at Hirotani. _Is my torture over? No. Their expressions don't say that it is. _One of the members began to speak to Hirotani, "Hirotani, it's too dangerous if she keeps screaming like this. The police will hear us for sure."

Hirotani nodded. "You're right. It's best to end this quickly."

_What are they planning to do? Please don't have it be what I think it is. _Hirotani lifted the inside of his jacket and pulled an item out from the inside. Sakura knew what it was instantly. The shiny, silver barrel right in the middle of it fully loaded. The trigger grasped tightly in his hand and the pointer finger ready to flick it at any moment.

Sakura's eyes widened as she stared at the gun. Tears began to brim her eyes as she realized that this was actually real. "P-please, d-don't kill me!" she pleaded.

The men merely looked back at her with smirks on their faces.

Hirotani looked at the gun firmly in his grasp, "There's that expression again. Like I said, fear suits any good victim."

The other men laughed at his words. Sakura tried as hard as she could to get up and run, but something kept her there. She knew this time that there would be no one to save her. She would be alone like she was most of her life. She was too afraid to scream. Tears dripped down her cheeks as she lie on the ground waiting for the trigger to pull for death. _I don't want to die, but there's nothing I can do! Why me? Why does this happen to me? It was all because of what I did for Mokuba. The one time I'm selfless only leads to my downfall._

Hirotani pointed the gun toward the girl and laughed at her reaction. "Yes, show your pain! Let your tears fall before your demise!"

Sakura looked around the room for an escape. Her eyes then caught sight of the phone sitting on the ground next to her. She outstretched her arm in an attempt to reach it, but one of the gang members kicked it slightly out of her reach. "Hmph, how pathetic. Come on, Hirotani, get it over with."

"Not yet… I want to see her pain."

"Hirotani-!"

The men whipped around to see the lights of a few cars pass down the street. They merely drove down the street, but didn't notice the commotion in the once silent house. But, just as a precaution, the men ducked to the floor. One of the shorter men glared at Hirotani, "Get it over with! We could've been caught!"

"No! Just give me another minute!"

"Just give me the gun, I'll do it."

One of the men went to grab for the gun, but Hirotani moved it away from him. The three men went to take the gun to finish the job, but Hirotani still wouldn't allow it. For he was the gang's leader, so he deserved the final blow. In the struggle, Hirotani's hand slipped onto the trigger. Before anyone expected it, a shot had fired. Everyone looked up to see it hit the carpet, but wasn't aimed toward anyone. The men slowly recoiled from Hirotani, "What was that?!"

"My hand slipped!"

"That doesn't matter; we've got to get out of here before someone hears us!"

"Hirotani, finish her now!"

The three of them ran out the backdoor, leaving just Sakura and Hirotani left. Sakura was frightened by the look Hirotani gave her as he held the gun toward her. One of the men called back for him, causing him to run toward the backdoor.

But, not before he fired a final shot at the immobilized Sakura.

**I am going to bang my head into a wall. I'm ruining the ending by ranting yes, but just hear me out. I'm so sorry for having this chapter be as short as it is, but I couldn't find a way to make it longer. I will shut up now, next chap be much longer (hopefully). Happy 2015 btw.**


	10. Hello

Sakura lay on the ground in pain. The blood poured just as much as the tears did. She lifted her trembling right arm over to her left side to feel the red liquid coming from her body. The bullet had hit her right above her left hip. The more she felt her blood, the more pain she felt. But, it wasn't just from the one area; it traveled across her midsection and paralyzed her body. _I-I…I'm going to die. I've got… to… get help._

She managed the strength to move her head to try and find something she could use. Screaming or calling for it was out of the question, she could barely move, let alone get her vocal cords to function. She now tasted blood within her mouth. She recognized this symptom as one meaning that she was internally bleeding. Sakura slowly moved her head to her right side to see the phone sitting against the couch. _Who would I bother to call? Wait… _She remembered that she was still wearing her clothes from yesterday. She took her hand away from her wound and dug into her pocket and reached Kaiba's business card. Her fingers smudged blood onto it, but she could still read the numbers. Putting the card on her chest, she reached for the phone, but it was too much of a distance, only by about a foot.

Sakura scooted her body closer to the phone, which caused her to cry in pain. Her outstretched arm reached again and the tips of her fingers touched it. Her trembling fingers made the job difficult, so she decided to try and get closer to it. Another yell escaped her lips. Her hand finally grasped the phone and she lifted her other one to pick up the card. By now, the carpet, her clothes, the phone, and the card all had the red liquid stained on them. Sakura's shaky hands slowly began to punch the numbers into the phone. Any other person would've called an ambulance, but Sakura's head just wasn't thinking rationally.

Sakura finally typed in all the numbers and then held the phone to her ear. The ringing seemed like it would last forever and Sakura thought she'd die before he'd pick up.

~.~.~

Kaiba still sat at his desk and ran his fingers through his hair. Suddenly, the phone next to him began to ring. He glanced at the clock. 2:58 am. _Who would call at this hour? Unless… no, it couldn't be, could it? _Kaiba slowly grabbed the phone and placed it against his ear. "Hello?" he spoke.

There was no response. The only thing he could hear was the sound of someone breathing heavily into the receiver. Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "What kind of prank is this? Whoever you are, I'll hunt you down unt-!"

"K… Kai…b…a."

Kaiba was puzzled at first, but then immediately recognized the voice. "Sakura?"

She still didn't respond. Her breathing was still muffled and she was unable to speak.

"Sakura? What's going on? What happened?"

"K… Ka… iba… I….I."

From the way she sounded, she sounded like she was in a lot of pain. Sakura opened her mouth to speak again, but gagged at the blood from her mouth. "Sakura! Where are you?"

The line went dead. Sakura had hung up by accident. Kaiba slammed the phone down and shot up from his chair. Although he couldn't be one-hundred percent, he had an idea of where she was. It was one of the only logical places to find her. He ran downstairs wearing a pair of dark dress pants and a dark blue long-sleeved shirt. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, he ran into one of his maids. "Bring my driver around. And make it fast, I don't have any patience tonight."

She nodded and ran off somewhere. Kaiba hastily slipped on his shoes and walked outside into the night. He didn't have the time to grab a coat. The limo immediately pulled up and Kaiba jumped in and directed the driver to the right address. The minutes seemed to tick by even slower than they were happening. To Kaiba, the world seemed to have stopped spinning and everything was just frozen. _What kind of trouble was Sakura in? Was this what she was so concerned about yesterday? _

The limousine came to an abrupt halt and Kaiba looked out the window to see he was there at his destination. He briskly walked out of the limo and approached Sakura's house. He stood by the door and gave a hard knock. No one answered. He knocked again. Nothing. "Sakura!" he shouted.

Still nothing. It was like knocking on the door of a long abandoned home. Kaiba reached for the knob and went to turn it. _Darn it. Locked. _Kaiba took a step back and then went to kick the door down. Lucky for him, it came straight down. "Sakura!" he shouted again.

He walked into the house and stared through the darkness. Then he noticed it. One of the front windows had been broken and the ground was littered with shards of glass. He cautiously stepped over them and found himself staring into the living room. His jaw dropped at the next sight. There, by the couch lied Sakura. He ran up to her and crouched down next to her. "Sakura!" he said shaking her.

Kaiba held her in his arms and he stared into her eyes. They were open, but she appeared to be in some sort of daze. But, as he held her, he sighed of relief at feeling she was still alive. "Sakura…"

This made her turn her head toward him. "Y… you… ca…came." She smiled.

Kaiba nodded and looked her over. There was a faint trickle of blood coming from the corner of her mouth and he saw the phone and his business card lying next to her, both with the faintness of blood on them. He then noticed the blood to the left of her on the carpet. He looked down to her left side to see her right hand covering the area. He lifted his own hand to move hers out of the way. He gasped at the sight of it. There was a gunshot wound within her skin and the blood slowly dripped from it.

Sakura noticed where he was staring. "I…I'm… f….fine."

Kaiba had heard that people often went into weird delusions when they were dying, so that could explain her words. She and him both knew that she was nowhere near 'fine'. "Quiet." He said. "You don't need to lose any more blood than you already have."

Sakura nodded and closed her mouth. _I'm… surprised he came for me. He never really seemed like he cared at all. _Kaiba reached over and grabbed the phone from the floor and dialed 9-1-1. He held the phone to his ear, but kept it at a distance so Sakura's blood wouldn't get on him. "911, what is your emergency?" the operator asked.

Kaiba's cold side began to take control. He didn't want to sound like he cared. "There's a girl that's been shot. She needs an ambulance fast."

"Okay, we'll send one right over. What is the address?"

Kaiba displayed the address and then hung up. He dropped the phone back to the ground and glanced back to Sakura. She looked like she was struggling to even keep her eyes open. _Ugh… it's so hard to stay awake, _Sakura thought. "Keep your eyes open." Kaiba said. "You'll live longer that way."

"Y…ye…ah." She responded.

"What did I say about you talking?"

Sakura clamped her mouth shut and stared up at Kaiba in an attempt to distract her from the internal agony. His facial muscles were tense as he cursed under his breath wondering where the ambulance was. _Even when he's angry… he still looks gorgeous, _Sakura thought. At first, she thought what she had said was a delusion of her mind, but then realized that it was the truth.

After another few minutes, the two teenagers heard the sound of an ambulance riding down the street. _Finally!, _Kaiba thought, _could they have gotten here any slower? _Sakura was really struggling to stay awake now. Her wound was draining more and more of her energy by the second. Kaiba looked back down at her and sensed her struggle. "Sakura, you're going to make it, got it? You're not going to die tonight."

Sakura, and even Kaiba, were both surprised at his sudden tone of voice. _It was so soft… _Sakura thought, _does he really care that much?_

_What kind of tone was that? _Kaiba thought, _I've already told myself, I'm not the boy I used to be._

Aside from her thoughts, Sakura nodded at Kaiba anyways. They looked over to hear the ambulance stop in the driveway and watched at the paramedics rushed into the room with a stretcher. Kaiba released Sakura from his arms and stood away from her as the paramedics stared in awe at Sakura's state. They bent down and slowly began loading her onto the stretcher, trying not to upset the wound and risk her losing more blood.

As they were doing that, a police officer walked into the living room and spotted Kaiba first. He began to question him and Kaiba gave as much information that he knew, including the part about her being so afraid just yesterday. The officer nodded as he wrote down every word that Kaiba had slipped from his mouth. "Mmhm," the officer nodded as he finished writing, "and what is your relation to her, young man?"

"I'm her… _friend._" To Kaiba, that term insulted him for calling himself that. For Sakura was more, but also less, to him.

"Alright, we'll take it from here. Do you want to come in the ambulance with her?"

Kaiba swallowed, "Yes."

The officer nodded. He turned toward the paramedics who were strapping Sakura into the stretcher. "Hey, let this kid into the ambulance."

The paramedics nodded. _Kid? _Kaiba thought, _I'm eighteen! I bet I'm a heck of a lot more successful than any of these people will ever be! _Kaiba didn't let it bother him to much though; there were more important things to worry about. He merely followed the paramedics outside and jumped in to the ambulance next to the stretcher-bound Sakura. Only now that he was in an ambulance, is when he realized that this was actually happening. It would not be some figment of his imagination.

Sakura's vision began to turn blurry and was trying to figure out where she was at this point. _The walls are so bright… but what is this? Is-is that the sound of a door closing? Am I in an ambulance? _She glanced over to see Kaiba sitting next to her with his arms crossed over his chest. "Th… anks… Ka… iba." She stammered.

Kaiba glared at her for talking, but answered anyways. "For what?"

"F-for… sav… ing… me… and… get…ting… help… for… me."

Kaiba nodded in response. For any other person, he would never have done anything of the sort for them, but somehow, Sakura was different. Deep down, he may have had some kind of feelings for her that he would never accept. The two sat there quietly as the ambulance made its way to the hospital. The paramedics were working every second to try and address and stop Sakura's blood loss, but the flow just kept coming.

Aside from the delusions and pain medications, Sakura still had a conscious of what was happening. _I'm not going to make it. I can see it in everyone's faces. _She glanced over to her right. _Even Kaiba's. _Kaiba had not shown such concern on his expression for a long time. It was only exposed when Mokuba was being kidnapped by notorious villains at least two years ago.

But, as soon as he saw Sakura look at him, he masked it again. _She doesn't need to believe she's dying. But, any genius could figure out that she is. At least she's putting up a fight. I hope she can withstand everything until we reach the hospital._

"K-Kai… ba. You… don't... ne-need… to put… on a… brave… f-face… fo-for… me."

Kaiba looked at her in shock to see her smiling at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but shut it again. Sakura looked back to the ceiling and her eyes began to droop.

"Ever…y… thing… is… going… dark."

Kaiba's eyes widened. "Sakura, you need to stay awake, you got that?"

She shook her head. "Can't…"

Kaiba felt like he was going to die along with her. _This can't be happening. She's not going to die. _He placed a hand on her shoulder, "Sakura, stay with us. You've got to make it until we reach the hospital. Sakura?"

"I'm… sorry."

Sakura closed her eyes and the heart monitor next to her began dropping pace quickly. The paramedics started to try and revive her, but her eyes remained shut. Kaiba felt like his body was about to shatter into glass. He didn't care anymore whether he was fire or ice, he just wanted her back. _This isn't happening… _"Sakura!"

**Chapter name was inspired by the Evanescence song 'Hello'. Everyone must _listen to it now_! Maybe went crazy with the periods in Sakura's speaking, but whatever. I'm also surprised that a few people predicted how I was going to put Kaiba into the picture, but you guys aren't stupid, so… I'm ruining that ending with my chit-chat aren't I?**


	11. The Awakening

Kaiba waited anxiously outside of the emergency room. He glanced at his watch. 4:22 am. It had been nearly an hour since Sakura had arrived at the hospital. Since she had taken a turn for the worst. Not that she was exactly 'healthy' before she had been loaded into the ambulance. The paramedics were able to stabilize her for a matter of minutes, but once they had gotten into the hospital, she started to sink back into the same state. Since then, Kaiba had gotten no information on how she was. _I'm not even sure if she's dead yet. _He shook his head. _That's a fact I refuse to accept. _

Kaiba stood from his chair and started for the coffee maker at the other end of the room. He was the only one in the waiting room at this time of morning, but he was glad about that. He didn't need people pestering him wondering if he really was _the _Seto Kaiba. He grabbed a cup and poured the coffee into it and took a sip. The beverage was cold since no one had touched it in hours, but it was still coffee to him. He took another sip. _Ugh, I needed this, no matter how horrible it tastes._

He walked over to the chair he had been sitting in and took another sip. Once he was nearly finished with his coffee, someone walked into the room. "Are you here for Miss Takahashi?"

Kaiba looked up to see a doctor standing there. He threw his cup in the trash and stood up. "How is she?"

The doctor sighed, "You may want to sit back down, son." Kaiba shook his head. "Very well. It appears that the shot wound had pierced an artery and a couple of her veins to the left of her abdomen, but luckily, none of her organs were harmed. Due to this, she is suffering from some internal bleeding. We've already begun surgery and are in the process of doing a transfusion because of her blood loss. Do you have any questions?"

Kaiba glanced into the doctor's eyes. "Will she pull through?"

"It's difficult to say right now. But, if she's lasted this long, then she has a pretty good chance of survival."

Even the chance of 'pretty good' wasn't enough for Kaiba. He'd only stop being concerned once the doctor said she had a one-hundred percent chance. "Is that all?" the doctor asked.

Kaiba nodded.

"Well then, I'll come back once she's out of surgery."

Kaiba watched as the doctor headed out of the waiting room and back to where he had come from. Kaiba collapsed back into the chair and ran his fingers through his hair. It was certainly a lot to take in. _She better come out of surgery alive. If she doesn't, I'll kill her._

~.~.~

Another hour and a half had passed, along with two more cups of coffee. Kaiba threw his cup in the trash and tapped his foot silently on the ground. He was already annoyed at the fact that Sakura had been in surgery so long, but the thought of her getting well again kept him from getting angry over the matter. He rested his fist against his cheek and stared at the doorway desperately. _Ugh, can't these idiots work any faster?_

Just as he thought that, the same doctor reentered the waiting room. Kaiba stood to his feet and faced the doctor. "Is she out of surgery?" he asked.

The doctor nodded. "Yes. We've since stopped her internal bleeding, but her vitals still need stabilizing. The nurses have moved her upstairs into the Intensive Care Unit. Would you care to see her?"

Kaiba nodded.

"Well then, I won't keep you. Miss Takahashi is quite lucky to have a friend such as yourself."

_I'm not her friend. But yet, I don't know what she is to me._ The doctor walked off and Kaiba headed in the opposite direction toward the elevator. He pressed the 'up' button and waited. Within moments, the elevator _dinged _and opened its doors for him. Kaiba headed inside and pressed the key for the floor right above him. He was anxious to see Sakura more than anything else, but couldn't describe his feelings. Once the elevator had stopped, he briskly walked down the hallway and reached a set of closed white doors.

He looked over to the side of the door to see a button and a speaker attached to the wall. He pressed it as it buzzed, but nothing happened. He looked up and noticed a security camera above the door. The speaker on the wall then spoke, "Good morning, who are you here to see?"

"Sakura Takahashi." Kaiba answered.

"Alright, go on in."

The doors automatically opened and Kaiba headed inside. Like everything else in the hospital, the walls and tile were all white. The only thing that wasn't white was the wooden doorways. He scanned them quickly before he found the room number that Sakura supposedly was in. He didn't knock, for he knew that she would be asleep since she just got out of surgery. He opened the door and what lied inside shocked him.

Sakura lied on a bed wearing a hospital gown and her arms were covered in IV's and cables to attach her to monitors. She also wore a breathing mask. Other than that, she slept peacefully. Kaiba couldn't hide his shocked expression at seeing her like that. _She just looks… helpless. Even more so than when I found her bleeding. At least then she was conscious. _Kaiba shut the door and slowly approached her. He pulled up a chair and simply watched her as he sat down.

He stared to the monitors to see that her breathing and heart rate were a bit slow. _But, if it was concerning they'd tell me, right? _He looked back to Sakura and watched her carefully. Her slow breaths caused a fog to appear in the breathing mask, but soon dissolved. Her smooth skin was back to a normal color, but still lay there in her normal paleness. _She looks so peaceful while she sleeps. _Kaiba tried to snap from his thoughts. _Why am I falling for her? Any other man would've, but I'm not them. Is it merely because I feel compelled to because of what she did for Mokuba or because I actually care for her? Whatever the excuse, I'm not sure I want to think of it now._

"K-Kaiba?"

Kaiba looked up to see Sakura staring at him. _Ugh, why do I feel so awful? _Sakura thought, _wait, am I in a hospital? And why is Kaiba here? Certainly he has more important things to worry about. _She looked down at herself to see the IV's and monitors all over her arms and the breathing mask attached to her face. She went to lift it off, but was stopped by the feeling of pain from one of the needles in her arm.

Sakura groaned and laid her head against the pillow. She lifted her finger and pointed to the breathing mask. Kaiba saw this and figured that she wanted it off. He was hesitant at first, but then reached for it. It was strange for him to be so close to her. He pulled the mask over her head and Sakura breathed in the fresh air.

"Thank you." Kaiba nodded in response. "What happened?"

Kaiba was actually surprised that she didn't know. _He_ should be the one asking her that question. "You're in the hospital. Don't you remember being in the ambulance?"

Sakura sighed. "A little bit. I just remember talking to you, but I don't remember the conversation."

"You were dying."

"Yeah, I remember that part. But, I'm okay now, right?"

Kaiba sighed. "As far as I know."

Sakura nodded and looked out at the window. There was snow on the ground in a thick layer.

"Now it's time for you to start answering _my _question. Like, how did you get shot in the first place?"

Sakura looked down at herself. That part she remembered perfectly. Hirotani and the other men ran away, but just before, her body was shot. "Did Mokuba tell you about the Rintama gang?" she questioned.

Kaiba nodded.

"Well… they came after me next. They threatened me. In the middle of the night, they broke into my house. They beat me up and then… shot me before escaping."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. He suddenly hated this gang even more for hurting not only his brother, but Sakura as well. "I'll make sure they're found. Those idiots don't know who they've been messing with."

Sakura gave a half smile, "Thank you."

Kaiba looked at her. "I'm not doing it _just _for you, Mokuba was involved as well."

That was the only thing he could say to try and mask his slight compassion toward Sakura. She nodded, "Of course."

Kaiba stood from his chair. "I'll be leaving now. I suggest you get some rest, Sakura."

"Right. Goodbye Kaiba."

He nodded and headed out of the room. It was the only way for him to relieve his inner frustration. He exited the ICU and walked into the elevator. He rubbed his temples as the silence of the elevator entered him. _I can't get close to her or anyone for that matter. Her injury just seems like an excuse for me to care about her more._

Sakura watched the doorway, as if hoping that he'd come back. It was all silence. The door soon clicked open and Sakura almost shot up to see if it was Kaiba, but instead it was just a nurse. She warmly greeted Sakura and then began to scold on why she took the oxygen mask off. Saying something along the lines of "don't you know you could die without it?" Sakura merely lied there as the nurse repositioned the mask on her.

As the nurse checked her vitals and refilled her IV's, Sakura couldn't help but think back to Kaiba. She silent chuckled and smiled to herself. _He won't admit it, but he's losing his cold side. He's starting to change for the better._


	12. Stay With Me

"WHAT?!"

Sakura held the phone away from her ear as her mother screeched into the phone. After sensing that she calmed down, she placed it back to her ear. "Yeah… the house was broken into. I'm fine though."

She hadn't told her parents about getting shot yet, which any other person would've. _I can't even predict such a reaction. I'd rather explain it to them personally. _"What was broken? Did they steal anything?"

"No, they didn't. And as far as I know, it's just the front window and the door."

"Should we come home?"

"No, no. I'll be fine. I'm already staying somewhere else."

The hospital wasn't an ideal place for her to be staying, but at least it was comfortable. _Just a matter of days left and then I can leave. _Sakura looked up to hearing a knock at the door to her room. "Oh, mom, I've got to go."

"Alright, bye sweetie."

Sakura hung up the phone back on the wall behind the bed. She certainly felt less drugged than she did the previous day as just getting out of surgery, but today, her body still ached. Any sort of movement could send pain near her wound. She couldn't even sit up, and had to be monitored constantly and had the wear the oxygen mask on certain occasions during the day. The door opened to reveal one of the nurses, "Sakura, there are visitors here for you."

The nurse stepped out of the way to see Kaiba and Mokuba enter the room. They walked in as the nurse began to check Sakura's vitals. "Hi Sakura!" Mokuba said. "Here, these are for you."

He held out a small bouquet of yellow roses to her. Sakura took them and smiled as she set them on the end table. "Thanks Mokuba. That was sweet of you."

"Don't thank me, it was Seto's idea."

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked over at Kaiba, who was currently avoiding her gaze by looking out the window. "Well, thank you too, Kaiba."

He grunted and then looked to her. _At least she's in a better mood than yesterday, _Kaiba thought.

The nurse glanced at Sakura, "How are you doing today, dear? Any pain, swelling, infection, irritation, or side effects?"

"Uh, yeah." Sakura replied. "My midsection has been hurting _a lot. _Is there any medication you can give me?"

"Rate you pain from one to ten."

Sakura thought for a moment. "Six."

"If we gave you anything, then you'd probably feel pretty out of it."

Sakura sighed. "Alright, but could you please wait until _they _leave first?" she said pointing to the two brothers.

"Of course. Just call if you need anything."

The three of them watched the nurse walk out of the room. "So, how are you feeling, Sakura?" Mokuba asked.

"A little tired."

"Did you sleep?"

"Not really. It was difficult… also; the nurses woke me up every few hours to check up on me."

The truth is, when she went to shut her eyes to sleep, the image of being shot kept replaying in her mind. Such a traumatic experience would lead her to have nightmares, which were not something she favored well. _I remember even the simplest of nightmares could send me crying when I was little. _

"Mokuba," Kaiba said. "Perhaps, we should leave Sakura alone, she obviously needs rest."

"No Kaiba, its fine." Sakura said. "I don't want to have you two leave, you just got here."

Mokuba looked between his brother and Sakura. "We'll come back later, alright?" he said. "Seto said he had some work to finish today anyway."

It was a lie, but Mokuba wanted to know why his brother was being like this. "Oh, okay, I'll see you then."

Mokuba nodded as he followed his brother out the door. Once the door of them were in the elevator, Mokuba looked to his older brother, "What's up with you, Seto?" he asked. "Why did you want to leave so suddenly?"

Kaiba sighed. "It's complicated."

~.~.~

_Vivid images began to swirl within Sakura's slumber. If anything, they were nothing but peaceful. She found herself standing among the darkness until a spotlight shone above her. She glanced up to try and find the source of such light, but just found an endless spiral of it. Sakura looked around, but found nothing but the blackness around her. That is, until she heard a voice,_

_"Ah yes, it appears you haven't died after all." The man started. _

_Sakura's eyes widened as she turned to see another spotlight appear. The man held a silver gun tightly in his grasp and Sakura went o run away as fast as she could. But, to her own surprise, she was kept within the spiral of light. She collapsed onto her knees and began to sob. Sakura went to scream, but couldn't find her voice. People never seem to speak within their own dreams. Hirotani lifted the shimmering gun up so it pointed to her head._

_"Hmph," he continued. "You're pitiful. You are named for the cherry blossom, yes? That figures. You're just as pathetic as such things… how fragile and easy to wilt you are!"_

_The bullet shot from the gun aiming right for her. Even though it aimed for her head, she didn't feel it hit her skull. Sakura fell to the ground and instead found the pain above her left hip; where the current wound was. She screamed again, but only air came from her mouth. This only seemed to drain her life energy until she felt it was completely deflated._

Sakura awoke to find tears dripping from her eyes and let out a loud scream. Somebody held down her shoulders in an attempt to keep her from flailing. She looked up and saw blue eyes staring into her hazel ones. Taking everything in, she saw that Kaiba was the one holding her down. Seeing that she was awake, Kaiba retracted his hands from her shoulders and walked over to the window. Sakura now noticed the nurse that stood next to her. "Are you alright, dear?" she asked.

"Y-yeah." Sakura replied rubbing the tears from her eyes. _It was just a dream. You're still alive. For now._

She took a deep breath and felt cool air trickle into her nostrils. She reached her arm up to her nose and now felt the cannula. The nurse seemed to notice her expression and found the need to explain, "Oh, you were just a little short of breath. It's not anything to worry about dear; you should be able to remove it in a little while."

She nodded and looked around the room. Kaiba glanced back at her and then continued looking out the window at the street below. The nurse soon left, leaving the two in silence. Sakura's eyes met with Kaiba's for a second, but not before he looked away. "So, where'd Mokuba go?" she asked him.

"Home." Kaiba responded.

"Why?"

"Hospital food doesn't exactly agree with his stomach."

"Oh." Sakura remembered that when Mokuba was hospitalized, he never really ate anything. She did admit that the food wasn't exactly four stars, but it certainly wasn't terrible. But, she couldn't silence her giggle from his comment.

Kaiba stared at her. "What's so funny?"

Sakura tried to control the smile on her lips as she looked at him. "Nothing. It's nothing."

He glanced toward the doorway. "I'm going home to check on Mokuba."

Sakura opened her mouth, but shut it again. _No, it's a stupid request. Well… _"Uh, Kaiba..?"

Kaiba turned back toward her. "What?"

_No, maybe I shouldn't say it. Should I? _"Well, I know you have to go home to Mokuba and all… but maybe you could stay a little longer. Just because… it's a little lonely around here…"

Kaiba felt a serious need to run for the door now. But yet, he held back. He sighed. "Alright."

He walked over to the side of the bed and sat down in one of the chairs next to it. He crossed his arms over his chest and sent occasional glances in her direction. Just by looking at him, she knew it was a bad idea to ask that of him. The room was filled with silence and wandering eyes. _Why did I ask him to do that? I shouldn't beg him to stay just because I want him around me. I need to make this less weird. _"Uh, thanks for holding me down." She said. "You know, when I woke up."

Kaiba nodded, but didn't respond. "What was it?"

"Pardon?"

"What were you dreaming about?" For whatever reason, he was curious about it.

Sakura looked down at her hands. "Just… a bit of a memory."

He nodded. Kaiba could imagine the kind of scars such a traumatic experience would leave. Even that experience would leave smaller scars on those Sakura had touched with her heart, like him. "Sakura?" he asked.

She looked up. "Yes?"

_No. I couldn't say it. I, Seto Kaiba, can never reveal such things. _"Never mind." He stood up from his chair. "Do you mind if I leave?"

"No, its fine. I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow?"

He nodded.

"Okay. Goodbye, Kaiba."

"Goodbye Sakura." He responded leaving the room.

_That was too close for comfort._

**Ugh, it took me like two hours to come up with that last part after the nightmare. Was Kaiba too OOC? I feel this chapter was kind of blah either way. Oh yeah, today is my one year anniversary of becoming a member on Fanfiction! *applause*It's been a good year guys, I've written 7 seemingly successful fanfics, so thanks.**


	13. White and Black

Sakura lie in her hospital bed drumming her fingers against her leg. _Come on, it's almost been a week. I want to go home. _The doctor soon walked into the room holding a chart in his arms. He greeted her and flipped through the chart. "Alright, Sakura, I think you're ready to be discharged. But, I expect a follow-up visit in about a few days." He said.

Sakura nodded. "So, I can go?"

"Not just yet. I expect you to take it easy for the time being. That means you shouldn't be doing any moderate to severe physical activity. It would be best not to aggravate your stitches, which we'll remove in time. But, as for physical activity, I don't want you to stay in bed the entire time. You should move on occasions so you don't grow stiff."

Sakura nodded. "Um, what should I do about my clothes?" she looked down at the hospital gown she was wearing. "Because I'm pretty sure they were blood-soaked."

"Unfortunately, the clothing you were wearing has since been trashed, and we don't have any extras on hand. But, we could give you a pair of scrubs if you would like."

Sakura frowned. _It's bad enough that my clothes were trashed, but do I really need to walk out of here looking like a surgeon? It'll be pretty embarrassing. But, what other choice do I have? _ "Fine."

The doctor nodded and excused himself. After a few moments, a nurse returned with the scrubs and Sakura's frown deepened. _Actually, walking out in a hospital gown didn't seem so bad._ She took off the gown and put on the grey pants and shirt. She looked down at herself and sighed. Sakura started toward the bathroom slowly, which was difficult for her. She still felt some discomfort and minor pain as she moved. Once in the bathroom, she stood in front of the mirror and almost laughed at how ridiculous she looked. The scrubs were at least two sizes larger than her small, petite body and sagged horribly. Sakura walked out of the bathroom and sat back down on the bed.

She looked up to hear a knock at the door. Once she allowed permission to enter, Kaiba and Mokuba walked into the room. She hadn't seen the duo for quite a few days, so their arrival was a bit of a surprise. "Oh, hi guys." She said.

Mokuba ran up to her and hugged her, much to her surprise. She couldn't hide her wince at his tight hug around her midsection. This caused him to retract, "Oh, sorry."

"It's alright, Mokuba."

"Ooh, did you hear the news?"

"What news?"

"Seto's security team tracked down Hirotani's gang! They're all in prison now. Isn't that great?"

Sakura looked up to Kaiba, who looked unfazed. She smiled at him. "Thank you."

Kaiba eyed her closely. "I told you, I'm doing this for Mokuba."

Sakura looked between the two brothers. "So, what are you guys doing here?"

"We're gonna give you a ride, right Seto?"

Kaiba shrugged. "Whatever."

"Oh, you don't have to do that." Sakura said. "I could just take a taxi home."

Suddenly, the thought of home frightened her. It was the scene of the crime. The place where she was almost murdered. _Will my blood still be there? What about the shot made on the carpet? Is the door and window even fixed yet? _She shuttered just thinking about it and wrapped her arms around herself. "Sakura?" Mokuba questioned. "What's wrong?"

She looked up. "Huh? Oh, sorry. It's nothing."

"Pitiful." Kaiba said. "You're afraid of entering your own home."

Sakura looked down at her hands and slowly nodded.

Kaiba merely stared at her. Mokuba looked at his older brother and batted his eyes. Kaiba scoffed. He knew exactly what his brother was trying to ask of him. _No. N-o. None of this is worth my time anymore. Sakura is nothing more than an illusion struggling to become a reality. She means nothing._

But a voice inside his head said otherwise: _"But Kaiba, you care, don't you?"_

_I do not. I never cared from the beginning. _

The voice kept speaking. Even if he tried to shake from it, the voice would keep haunting him: _"You fool. Denial is the coward's way out. Last I checked, Seto Kaiba is no coward."_

_What is that voice? Could it be conscience? It does not matter. Whatever this voice is, I hate to admit it, but it's right. Cowardice is not my strong suit. But, my dignity is. That's the problem. Problem? Dignity is no problem, it's a gift. _Kaiba sighed and looked to his younger brother, who was still giving him a pleading look. Kaiba somehow found it in himself to obey the voice in his head. He would actually give in. Kaiba turned to Mokuba and Sakura, "Mokuba, we're going home. Miss Takahashi," Sakura looked up. "You are welcome to come with us. I suggest you take advantage of my offer."

Sakura couldn't hide her shock. "Oh, yes. Thank you."

Kaiba turned toward the door without acknowledging her. Sakura wobbly stood from the hospital bed and slowly walked toward the door. She couldn't take any chances upsetting her injury. Mokuba saw this and, being the kind and helpful person he is, offered to help her, but Sakura told him otherwise. She admitted, she was a bit frail, but she didn't like being treated like the elderly, even if she was currently walking like them. The trio exited the room and made their way down the hallway to the elevator. They reached the silver doors of the elevator and Kaiba pressed the 'down' button. As they waited, Kaiba looked back at Sakura. He noticed her wearing the sagging grey outfit on her.

Kaiba snorted. "What kind of ridiculous outfit is that?" he asked as they entered the elevator.

Sakura's cheeks tinted pink, but she couldn't help but feel insulted. "It's all the hospital could offer."

He grunted. "Figures."

Sakura merely stared back towards the elevator doorway. The ride down to the ground floor was silent and awkward. _This is so weird,_ Sakura thought. _But yet, it was really nice of them to offer to let me stay with them again. _"Uh, Kaiba?" she asked.

He looked at her.

"I really appreciate this, all of it. It really wasn't necessary of you, but thank you."

Kaiba looked away from her. _I need to stop being so soft. Once she goes back to her own home, everything should be normal again._

The elevator _dinged _and the silver doors slid open. The trio walked through the lobby and towards the front doors. Sakura looked around and noticed people were looking at her strangely. _Let's face it; I'm wearing a pair of scrubs and hospital slippers. _She sighed and tried to ignore everyone. They walked through the revolving doors and stared at the pavement. Mokuba looked up at his brother, "I thought the limo was waiting here."

"I thought so too." Kaiba responded. "Leave it to that idiot to abandon us like that."

"Oh wait, no, he's just parked over there. See Seto?"

Kaiba nodded and looked to his other two companions. Mokuba's face was turning red from the cold, but otherwise looked quite comfortable in his winter coat. Sakura, on the other hand, was freezing. Her arms were wrapped around her body and her teeth were visibly chattering in a strange and quick movement. _S-stupid scrubs, b-being short-sleeved, _she thought. Plus, the wet slush on the ground was also seeping into the slippers she was wearing, so that didn't help either.

Kaiba just looked at her. He sighed. _Why must she be so helpless that even I am forced to help her? _He slowly began to remove his simple, dark, winter coat and then held it out to her. Sakura merely looked at it and then hesitantly took it and put it around her shoulders. "Thank you." She said.

Kaiba didn't respond. _I'd somehow feel worse if I let her get hypothermia. _Besides, he needed the cold weather to fuel his inner ice. He welcomely breathed in the cool air and felt his body's heat being casted away, much to his pleasure. _I needed this. _

The limo finally pulled up and the driver came around to open the door for the three of them. They climbed inside just as the doors closed and they soon drove off. Mokuba reached into the cooler next to the seats and grabbed a soda for himself. Kaiba, sitting in the middle, merely looked straight ahead. Sakura sat in silence staring out the window, still with Kaiba's coat around her shoulders. She pulled it closer to her and her mind began to drift. _Kaiba certainly is acting nicer than usual, even if he has a bit of an attitude. But, I should just be grateful for it all._

After a few minutes, they arrived at the silent mansion. The Kaiba brothers and Sakura got out of the limo and stepped up to the door. One of the maids from the inside saw them coming, so she opened the door to her masters and their guest. Sakura removed the coat from around her shoulders and held it back to Kaiba, but he merely signaled for the maid to take it, so she complied. Kaiba turned toward Sakura, "Takahashi," he started, "I presume you are expected to be resting."

She nodded. "Heh, yeah. I suppose I must remind myself that even if I'm out of the hospital, I'm still not healed."

He nodded in response. "Then I suggest you head upstairs."

"Ooh, Sakura, can we play another game like last time?" Mokuba asked.

"Sure, Mokuba." She said slowly walking to the stairs.

He soon ran up the stairs ahead of her to his bedroom. Sakura put her palm to the railing of the stairs and took a step. Immediately feeling the minor sharp pain in her side, she winced. _Yep, I knew stairs were a bad idea. _Kaiba walked to the stairs and noticed her struggle. _Ignore it. It's not worth my time. _He soon walked past her and headed up the stairs to his office. He glanced back. _No, she's not helpless. She can still walk. _He soon reached the top of the stairs and looked back again. Actually, he remained against the railing watching her struggle. He always enjoyed watching people's discomfort, opponent or not.

Once Sakura could finally make it to the top of the stairs, he disappeared into his office. She knew he was watching her, but didn't really care. People often looked at her in such a manner. She stalked into the guest room she stayed in last time and flopped down on the bed. _It feels good to relax. _This was premature as to how Mokuba soon came into the room holding a deck of cards and a stack of board games in his arms. "So Sakura, what do you want to play?" he asked setting down the items.

She pondered this for a moment. "I'll let you pick."

Mokuba looked through the stack with a questionable look on his face. Even though he liked games, sometimes when he played them too often, they lacked interest, which followed for the games before him. Except one; it was a memory of his childhood. "Wanna play chess?" he asked.

"Uh, sure."

He grabbed the box and sat on the bed next to her. He dug out the checkered board and sprawled the pieces across it. "Have you ever played before?" Mokuba asked.

"No. But, my father used to."

The boy grinned. _Finally, a game I can beat her at! _He slowly began to explain the rules and stated the moves only done by certain pieces. To Sakura, the specifics were quite confusing, but she understood everything decently. "So, whoever loses the king loses." Mokuba finished.

"Alright. Who taught you how to play?"

"Seto did. We used to play when we were younger. He's really good at it too!"

Sakura nodded as the duo began to play. At first, Mokuba started dominating Sakura's pieces and took out at least half of them in a matter of turns. Sakura seemed to improve as time went on, but Mokuba was still beating her. Somehow though, she had managed to get her last pawn to the other side of the board and transformed it into a queen. Using this, she ended up cornering Mokuba's king and thus beating him. Both of them were actually quite shocked. "Wow, you're good. Maybe you could even beat Seto!"

"Well, I don't think…" Before she could finish, Mokuba had already left the room. _That kid is so eager. _

Kaiba clicked away at his computer and then stopped briefly to think. He soon continued his typing until he heard his brother run into the room. "What is it, Mokuba?" he asked not turning away from his work.

"Seto, you wanna play a game of chess?"

This caused Kaiba to glance up. "With who?"

"Sakura. She's really good at it. She even beat me."

Kaiba stared at his younger sibling for a moment. To him, this sounded like a challenge. And, as everyone knows, Seto Kaiba strays from no challenge. He sighed. "If it means that I can return to my work, then fine."

Mokuba nodded and ran back into the bedroom. Kaiba soon followed and looked around. _I can't believe I'm doing this… _Sakura looked up at them and looked between them. "Seto says he'll agree to play chess." Mokuba explained.

"He doesn't _have _to, I never asked for him to play." Sakura said.

"Just be quiet and let's get this over with." Kaiba said sitting on the bed.

They began to set up the board and chose black or white. Sakura was white, while Kaiba was black. Such colors fit their personalities perfectly. Like black, Kaiba was powerful, held formality, was feared by many, quite mysterious, but also elegant. Like white, Sakura was very pure, innocent, cautious, understanding, and held much light to everything. They were opposites, but also flowed with each other. It was truly a battle to witness.

The two of them fought quite equally in the beginning, but the tables turned soon enough. Sakura was struggling to keep up with Kaiba's strategy, and began to lose the balance between black and white. The darkness was taking over the light. In only a matter of ten minutes, Kaiba had won. He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked in triumph. _Hmph, what an easy win. But, I'll admit, she may be a decently worthy opponent. _Sakura smiled at Kaiba, "That was a good game. I'm not surprised that I lost though." She said.

He looked at her. "Because you know I have superior skill."

_How do I respond to that? _Sakura thought. Kaiba looked at her perplexed expression and laughed. He loved the sense of defeating others, even if they were seemingly close to him. Sakura, however, couldn't join in on it; she felt like she was being mocked. But, even in this manner, she was surprised that she could even make him laugh. Kaiba let his laugh die down and then looked back at Sakura, "Perhaps we could play another game sometime."

He stood up and went to leave the room. He was not smiling, or even smirking, but he certainly seemed peaceful. Unlike his shadow-like self, he almost felt… alive.

**Yeah, sorry, school is dictating my free time. I would have put this up on Thursday maybe, but my mom kicked my off my computer while I was working. Blame her. Well, I was also suffering a small block with this chapter, so I'm responsible as well.**


	14. Repairing the Shattered Glass

Kaiba awoke specifically at six in the morning. He dressed in simple attire which consisted of a pair of dark pants and a blue long-sleeved shirt. Giving a silent yawn, he exited his bedroom and started down the hallway. He stopped next to the door of his brother's room and listened closely. The boy sounded asleep. He then glanced toward the room Sakura was residing in. The door was cracked open and the inside appeared silent. He found himself peering inside to see Sakura sleeping soundly, with her smooth features peaceful.

He turned himself away from the door and walked downstairs to the kitchen. It was time to forget her. He began preparing his coffee and eventually poured himself a cup. Kaiba no longer felt at peace as he did the night before. When he had fallen asleep the previous night, his mind had run over that day's actions. He was _too _nice. The thought of him becoming his former self terrified him.

_I don't have a heart anymore. _He was disgusted by his own statement.

Many others would believe such a statement, especially those he worked with. But, those such as his brother would never accept a comment like that. Kaiba was on the dividing line. His darkness has always been there. Since Gozaburo had arrived. His warmer side had been locked away tightly and was only peered into when his brother needed him.

This made Sakura an impossibility. His good side couldn't be offered to her. His bad side would only pull it back harder. The light side of him was reserved for his brother; he wasn't sure how it would react with anyone else. _That would be impossible, _he thought. She was forbidden; his soul could not just be easily handed to someone to care for and to understand.

It didn't matter _who _they were. Even if it was to a certain girl upstairs.

~.~.~

Sakura yawned and opened her eyes. She went to sit up but then felt the cool air outside of the blankets around her. She tucked the blankets closer to her and breathed in the scent of the fabric. Lavender. She glanced to the clock to see that it was almost seven. Yawning, she finally pushed the covers off of herself and slowly sat up. She made sure to move carefully in hopes of not upsetting her stitches. She stood and started to the huge window at the back wall. Snow lightly touched the earth, unharmed and beautiful. The soft sheets of it sparkled, even though there was no sunlight to reflect from.

The view felt different from this bedroom though. A small, childish thought came into her mind: _I want to go home. I miss my bed, the familiar surroundings… my clothes. _Sakura glanced down at herself to see that she had slept in the grey scrubs she had gotten the previous day. She didn't want to sound greedy, but she missed having more comfortable and less embarrassing clothing on. Sakura turned from the window and faced the door. She stalked out of her room and made her way to the stairs.

"Sakura?"

She turned around to see a still-tired Mokuba rubbing his eyes by his doorway. She smiled at him. "Good morning, Mokuba."

"Heh, morning."

"I was just heading downstairs. Care to join me?"

"Sure."

The duo made their way down the long stairwell and reached the ground floor. They headed into the kitchen where they saw Kaiba sitting at the table sipping his espresso. "Morning bro!" Mokuba said hugging his brother.

"Morning." He coolly responded.

Sakura gave a silent wave in Kaiba's direction to which he responded by nodding. Mokuba grabbed a carton of juice from the fridge and poured himself a glass before sitting next to his older sibling at the table.

"Uh, Kaiba?" Sakura said.

He looked up.

"I-I think I'm ready to return home now."

"Are you sure?" Mokuba asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. I think I can handle whatever is inside."

The truth was, Kaiba was frowning at this. Secretly, he was almost half-hoping for her to stay longer. Just to be near her. But, he immediately casted this feeling away. _If she wants to leave, then fine. Just let her go. It's not worth my effort. _

Kaiba shrugged. "Whatever."

Mokuba turned to his brother to see his cold expression as he looked at Sakura. This made him frown. "Then, I guess I should be leaving." Sakura said.

Kaiba nodded.

Mokuba looked up at Sakura. "Do you want a ride back home or anything?"

Sakura opened her mouth to refuse, but shut it. _If it's nearly as bitter as it was yesterday, then I don't really want to freeze to death. But, it sounds pretty selfish… _"Uh, well, if it's not a bother…"

"Of course not."

"Oh, alright, I guess so."

"Great, I'll have the limo take you back."

Mokuba ran off to find the driver, so Sakura turned back toward Kaiba. She gave a small wave as a 'goodbye' and then she walked away. His eyes carefully watched her. He watched the area where she once stood and when he blinked, he imagined her still standing there. She was like a ghost that had only shown its figure briefly. A still figure frozen in time.

The limo driver soon pulled up by the front door with Sakura and Mokuba standing there. "So, I guess I'll see you later, Mokuba." Sakura said.

"Yeah, bye."

"Thanks again."

With that, she disappeared into the limo. Watching it drive off, Mokuba sighed before heading back into the mansion.

~.~.~

Sakura stared out the window of the limo. Her mind was blank as she watched the scenery of the town pass by. When the vehicle came to an abrupt stop, she looked out and noticed they stopped next to her house. She thanked the driver and walked outside. The home looked perfectly innocent from the outside, but she knew the inside would be much worse. Walking up to the porch, her heart kept skipping beats. _This is actually going to be real. _

She noticed that the door was screwed back into its hinges and only had a few cracks in it. It would have to be replaced soon. She placed her hand on the knob, but felt her arm start to shake. _No turning back. _Sakura turned the knob and found the door to be unlocked. Gently pushing the door open, she found the house to be quite dark. Hesitantly, she stepped inside and shut the door. So far, other than the door, there was no evidence of the break-in. Sakura looked over and noticed the front window was boarded up. _So that needs to be replaced too._

Looking over, she saw the living room. Sakura slowly and cautiously walked to her right and took a deep breath. Seeing the room, she couldn't hide a gasp. By the couch, was a dried blood stain on the carpet. It was faint due to being there for so many days, but still visible. Sakura collapsed to her knees at the scene as tears pricked her eyes. It was all a traumatic reminder. Her body began to tremble as she buried her face in her hands. Tears leaked from her eyes as her arms wrapped around her frail body. Her first thought was _It hurts. I can still feel the pain. _Her second one took her off guard a little; _I need someone to comfort me. _

She glanced up at her sudden thought. _I don't need anyone here. Stop acting so flimsy, Sakura! You've been alone multiple times, once more won't kill you. _She shuttered at the word 'kill' with the devastating scene in front of her. _Fine, it won't bother me. _Sakura wiped away her tears and sniffed to relieve her nostrils of the snot forming in them. She stood up and headed up the stairs to her bedroom. It looked the same as the night she left it. She approached the bed and pulled the covers over so they were neater and then walked to her closet. She hastily discarded the grey scrubs and dressed in a pair of jeans and a magenta sweater. By doing so, she felt more at home, but she wasn't fully relaxed.

She headed out into the hallway closet to find a stack of fresh towels there. She grabbed two randomly and headed downstairs. Once in the living room, she unfolded the towels and spread them over the stain on the carpet. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. _There, now this is more home. No evidence of danger. _

~.~.~

Kaiba sat clicking away at his computer. He trained himself to not think of anything, or anyone, else other than what he was working on. Turning from his computer, he grabbed a stack of papers and began shuffling through them.

A strange emotion passed through his chest. Regret. He immediately knew this feeling was related to Sakura in one way or another.

He shook himself and returned to his work. While doing so, he failed to hear the gentle knock at his office door. From the doorway, emerged Mokuba. He walked into the room and now Kaiba noticed him. "What is it, Mokuba?" he asked. "I'm busy."

Mokuba remained silent, causing his sibling to look at him. Kaiba could see the dullness in his eyes and the small frown on his lips. "What's wrong, Mokuba?"

His younger brother took a deep breath. "You don't feel anything?"

Kaiba was puzzled none the less at this comment. "What are you talking about?"

"For Sakura, I mean. Do you not feel anything for her?"

Kaiba turned back to his work. "We're not discussing this, Mokuba."

"Why?"

"Drop it. I need to work."

"_No!_" This made Kaiba glance back at his brother. "I'm sorry, Seto, but, it's just… I can see it in your eyes. Secretly, she makes you happy. And then you just let her walk out here without any sort of acknowledgement?"

Kaiba was now glaring. "She is just a naïve girl that just _happened _to cross my path. She means nothing."

"No, she's not. She's more to you, Seto, I can see it. You're just afraid of admitting it."

Kaiba turned away from his brother and went back to his computer. He furiously clicked away at it as Mokuba stood there silently. He had to try another tactic to get through to his brother. But, just what would make him admit it? The room was dead silent other than the sound of Kaiba's slender fingers against the keyboard.

"Do you love me?" the boy finally asked.

Kaiba froze. The room was now completely silent. Mokuba looked to his brother to see the shocked, yet dull look on his face. Kaiba finally turned his chair to look at his brother.

"Mokuba, you're my brother, but you know I…"

"No. Don't give that kind of excuse. In your heart do you love me? Do you really care for me?"

Kaiba just looked at his brother. _Have I been that neglecting of him that he would ask this? _He complied with his brother's wishes and searched for his heart. It was a faint light of warmth. He looked deep within the locked gates of it to remember the two boys laughing and smiling as children.

_I must be more like I was then. I will not fully heal, but if Mokuba needs me like this, then I will comply. _His eyes softened as he continued to look at his brother.

"I do love you." He answered.

Mokuba's face lit up. "Then what makes _her _different from me?"

Silence. Kaiba turned back toward his computer and Mokuba thought he lost connection with his brother again. But, he looked to the computer screen to see that it was being shut down. Kaiba stood from his chair and now was in front of Mokuba.

"Thank you, Mokuba."

Mokuba smiled. "Anytime, Nii-sama!"

Kaiba smiled and walked out of the room. He headed downstairs and began putting on his coat as he called his driver around.

He was about to embark on the most dangerous trial of his life. It would put aside his doubt and make him whole again; he would say _I love you._

**Well, next chapter will be quite difficult to write, won't it? I can just sense the OOC-ness. I hope I could really get Seto's good/bad sides on par, or at least describe it well. Anyways, I'm not sure when I'll update next, but I apologize for this delay. **


	15. Beating of Two Hearts

Sakura lay flatly upon her bed. She was bored to say the least. To pass the time, she had done all of her homework, even though they weren't due back in school for nearly a couple more days. She rolled over and swung her feet so they touched the carpet so she could stand. Walking downstairs, she found herself in the living room. She would have _preferred _to avoid this area for the time being, but the towels covered all evidence.

Sakura flopped down onto the couch and just stared at the wall. She wasn't in the mood for watching television, or really anything else for that matter. She merely sat there with her legs to her chest and rested her chin atop her knees.

_I wonder what Kaiba and Mokuba are doing now. Mokuba seemed pretty disappointed when I left, but Kaiba didn't seem like he cared. Its… unfortunate. I really thought he was warming up to me. We could've been friends… or more? _Sakura shook her head. _No, I know he wouldn't feel like that towards me. _

_I know him. He doesn't seem to feel anything towards me._

This thought made Sakura hug herself tighter. She felt crushed by it all. Her forehead rested on her knees as she just stared down at herself. Kaiba was one of the only people she cared about other than her family, but, he had just ignored her. _I can't get attached to him anymore. It wouldn't be worth it. _She felt tears prick at her eyes as she sighed.

Then she heard a knock at the door.

She looked up toward the front door. Who could possibly be at the door? She had never expected or invited anybody. Sakura stood up and made her way to the front door. She opened it and stared at the person, and couldn't hide a small gasp. "Kaiba?" she questioned.

Even though he didn't seem angry, or happy, his expression seemed different. Kaiba looked at her. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Sakura nodded and stepped out of the way. He entered the house as she closed the door behind him. Kaiba took a deep breath; _I can't believe I'm doing this. _He turned and looked into her eyes; they were curious, but had a beautiful shine to them. Sakura looked up at him, _why is he looking at me like that? _"So, what are you doing here Kaiba?" she asked. "I didn't really expect you."

Kaiba took another breath. "Can we talk?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Uh, sure, I guess. What do you want to talk about?"

"Us."

Sakura cocked her head. "I-I'm a little confused."

He clenched his teeth together. "Look, I was afraid that I have feelings for you. For years, I've lived with being emotionless. That's why I've been rejecting my feelings. I don't know how to act like I once was anymore, but you've helped me without you knowing it."

"W-what are you trying to say?" she had an idea of where he was going with this, but wasn't quite sure.

He took another long breath. "I love you, Sakura."

Sakura's jaw dropped. Before she could realize it, tears began to flow from her eyes. They were not painful tears, but rather happy ones. She felt herself collapse against his chest as she continued to sob. Kaiba stiffened at this but soon relaxed and put an arm around her in an attempt to comfort her. He was afraid of her sudden reaction and feared she would reject him.

Sakura's tears began to soak Kaiba's coat, but he didn't really mind it. Sakura opened her eyes and realized how long she was crying for. She silently began to find her voice and muffled something into his coat. Kaiba, of course, could not hear her from that angle, so he just looked at her hoping she would repeat it.

Sakura, realizing that he couldn't hear her, spoke again. "… I love you too."

Kaiba just stood there. He had heard what she said, but he was surprised at her response. Sakura stepped back from him and now felt the tears across her cheeks, which were tinted light pink. She lifted her hands to her face attempting to dry her eyes. "S-sorry." She said referring to her tears.

As she continued to dry her eyes, she stopped when Kaiba grabbed her wrists. It was not a forceful grab, but rather one to get her attention. She looked to her wrists and then up at him. Her gaze stopping once she felt his warm lips on hers. She was taken aback, but soon welcomely kissed him back. He slowly departed from her and the two teenagers looked into each other's eyes. To Sakura's surprise, the blue depths of Kaiba's weren't their usual layer of ice, but rather of a fierce ocean. It had rough, but calmer parts too.

"Sakura?" he asked.

"Yeah… Seto?"

He was shocked as to how she was already accustomed to calling him that.

Sakura worriedly looked at him. "Is it alright that I call you that?"

He nodded. "Sakura, are you okay with _this_? With us being… together?"

She nodded. A smile spread across her lips as she spoke, "I am."

Seto cracked a smile of his own at her. Her eyes widened at his smile. She had never seen him smile before, but she loved it. It was a very handsome smile.

Sakura wrapped her arms around him in a hug and leaned against his chest. Seto put his own arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head. His body began to stiffen, which Sakura could easily sense. She glanced up at him, "What is it?" she asked.

"Sakura," He spoke her name in a soft, but commanding tone. "I want you to know something."

She titled her head at him. The two of them gazed into each other's eyes and Sakura was concerned about him due to the hardness in the blue depths.

"I want you to know that sometimes I may be distant from you. I know I won't fully transition from my colder self and I just want to prepare you for that. I wouldn't be surprised if you…"

He was stopped when her lips touched his. She stood on her tiptoes to be able to reach that height though.

She separated her lips from his and smiled at him. "I don't care, Seto. Even if you _are _quite distant, it won't change the way I feel about you."

He nodded. "Thank you."

She continued to smile at him, while Seto's lips turned into a smile of their own. After many long and painful years, he could finally smile in front of somebody else without a worry in the world.

And he enjoyed it.

**Too short, too long of a wait, too much OOC-ness, what other issues am I missing? Anyways, you guys aren't going to maul me if I end it there, correct? Right? Somebody say right. I could care less either way, except that if it does get continued by high demand, then the chapters will be quite difficult. But if this is the end, then thanks for reading.**


	16. Announcing Continuation!

***Sigh* Well, I've made up my mind. I've decided to continue this story and add more chapters. Speaking of how I got a literal threat of getting mauled if I don't. I'm looking at you anonymous reviewer person! I'll admit, I'm a bit disappointed that I have to continue it because I have some other fics I may have to postpone, but I'll also admit that I love writing about Sakura and Seto. **

**Speaking of which, how many more chapters should I add? 5? 10? 15? Give me a number. Also with the chapters, I'm open to requests on certain things because my creative juices may be running slow with this. Give me a PM or review on any ideas anyone may have. I cannot guarantee I'll put them in, but I'll try or change the plot slightly. That's all for now and I'll try to come up with some stuff soon.**


	17. Bleeding the Truth

"Well, it seems that you're chart is clear today, Miss Takahashi." The doctor said.

Sakura smiled. "So, is that all?" she questioned.

The doctor thought for a moment. "Actually, no. Just one question; how is your mental health? After such a traumatic experience have there been any abnormalities in your behavior?"

Sakura looked to the ceiling. "Not really. I've had a couple nightmares, but nothing too severe."

He nodded. "Alright, don't hesitate to come by if you have any problems or concerns. If not, then we'll see you in about a month for you next follow-up."

Sakura nodded and stood from the chair she was sitting in. The doctor kindly opened the door for her as she stepped out of the room. She headed into the waiting room and scanned the area. That's when she noticed him. There, in the lonesome corner of the room, sat Seto. He had his arms folded over his chest and his legs crossed, but yet looked about as bored as he possibly could get. She walked up to him with her hands in her coat pockets. He looked up at hearing her small steps and smirked at her.

"About time." He said standing up.

She briefly hugged him and smiled. "It wasn't that long of a wait."

The two began to walk down the halls toward the elevator. He shrugged at her. "How'd it go?"

"It was fine. Nothing abnormal."

He nodded.

"Thanks for coming with me, by the way."

He smirked at her. "Somebody had to come and make sure these idiots knew what they were doing, especially since their patient is my _girlfriend._"

The pair had been dating for almost a month now. So far, things have been going smoothly. Seto had contained his cold side around her and has been as content as possible with her. They enjoyed each other's company, and whenever he was busy with work, Sakura always had Mokuba to hang out with. She was like a sister to him.

Seto pressed the button for the elevator and the pair soon stepped inside. "Doctors aren't idiots." Sakura informed. "Don't be so mean."

He looked at her apologetically. "Force of habit."

She giggled. "I guess."

The doors to the elevator opened once they reached the main floor of the hospital. Sakura and Seto squeezed past the group of people trying to enter the elevator and made their way to the revolving doors. After pushing through the doors, they made it outside into the crisp, cool air. Snow still littered the ground and the sun was hiding behind the dull grey clouds. Seto's limousine, upon seeing them, pulled up moments later. Seto and Sakura entered the back seat and they soon drove away. Sakura soon found her fingers curving to interlock with Seto's, which he allowed. After a fifteen minute carried, the limo finally pulled up in front of Sakura's home.

Seto gazed out the tinted window at the house. He raised an eyebrow after a moment. He nudged Sakura lightly. "Whose car is that?"

Sakura leaned over him and looked at the driveway. Sitting there was a bright silver car that you wouldn't expect to find a speck of dirt on. Her eyes widened. _Oh no. They're early. _Seto glanced to her and noticed the panicked expression on her face. "What's wrong?"

She snapped from her trance and looked at him. "I have to go." She fumbled with her seatbelt and began to open the car door, but Seto placed a firm hand on her shoulder.

"You're not leaving until you tell me who they are."

"…My parents."

She shook his hand off of her shoulder and stepped out of the car. She practically ran through her front yard to reach the front door. She grabbed the house key from her pocket and unlocked the door. Stepping inside, she looked around to find everything untouched. She turned once she heard her parents talking in the kitchen. She removed her boots and noticed her parents had ceased talking. Sakura slowly stepped into the kitchen and her parents looked up at her.

Her mother quickly ran up to her and hugged her tightly. "Oh, thank goodness you're alright!"

"You're home early." Sakura replied.

"Yes, we finished our work project early, so we thought we'd surprise you."

Sakura nodded.

"Well," her father said standing up, "Why don't you help us bring our suitcases upstairs?"

She nodded again and grabbed one of the smaller ones. She led the way up the stairs with her parents shortly behind her. Sakura stopped when she noticed her mother staring into the living room. She was about to ask what she was looking at, but then noticed what her mother was looking at. Her stomach dropped instantly. Her mother set down her suitcases and glanced at her daughter.

"Why are there towels on the floor?" she questioned.

Her mother slowly began to make her way to the scattered towels. Sakura wanted so badly to rush upstairs, but knew she couldn't avoid this. _Please, why couldn't they just ignore that? _Her mother reached down and grabbed the towels from the floor. But, they soon dropped back to the floor once she saw the huge red stain. A small shriek escaped her lips as well.

"My God." Her father noted. "It's like somebody got murdered in here."

Sakura stepped closer. "I-it's from the break-in. Remember when I told you?"

Her mother nodded and looked to her. "Whose blood is this?"

_Why did she have to ask that? _Sakura remained silent for a few moments. She took a deep breath. "…Mine…"

The room fell silent. Both parents looked unconvinced, but shocked none the less. "What?" her father spoke.

Sakura took another breath. "It wasn't really a break-in… it was an ambush. They came in and shot me…" She slowly explained the situation with Hirotani and how they had entered the house and attacked. But, she had left out any mention of Seto.

Once she had finished explaining herself, her mother already had tears in her eyes. Her mother quickly rushed up to her and hugged her sobbing. Her father did the same, but had no evidence of tears on his face. The trio just stood there in silence, taking everything in. After almost ten minutes, Sakura's parents finally separated from her and her mother had calmed down.

"We're just so glad you're alright…" her mother said.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" her father asked.

"I-I didn't want to overwhelm you…" Sakura said staring at the floor.

"Too late for that."

Sakura smiled.

"Where did you get shot?" her mother asked.

Sakura partially lifted up her shirt to reveal the scar above her left hip, which was a light pink. Her parents nodded as Sakura readjusted her shirt. "Well, why don't you helped us unpack?" her father smiled.

"Sure." Sakura replied.

Sometime later, the three of them all were gathered in the kitchen. Sakura's mother stood over the stove making dinner, while Sakura and her father sat at the table. "I just don't understand what leads people to do such criminal acts," her mother said. She glanced toward her husband, "Are you listening to me, Ken?"

He nodded. "Yes, Jun."

Sakura rarely heard her parents refer to each other by their first names; they only did so at times like this. Ken turned toward his daughter, "By the way, why did I see you getting out of a limo earlier?" he asked.

"Oh. You saw that?" Sakura said nervously.

He nodded.

"Oh. It belongs to… my _boyfriend_."

A loud banging was heard from the kitchen. Sakura and her father looked over and saw her mother had dropped the silverware she was holding. Jun's eyes flashed over to Sakura. "Boyfriend? Did you just say boyfriend?"

"Yes…" Sakura's face was bright red.

"Oh." Jun said smiling to herself. "Do tell."

Sakura looked to her father and saw the serious gleam in his eye. She looked between the two of them. "His name is Seto. Seto Kaiba. And…"

"Isn't there a gaming company with the name 'Kaiba'?" Ken interrupted. "Kaiba Corporation, is it?"

"Yeah, he runs it."

"Hmph, no wonder he's got a limo. Is he your age?"

"About a year older. Actually, I probably wouldn't be sitting here if it wasn't for him. He's the one who called the ambulance for me."

"Hm." Her mother huffed. She exchanged a glance and a nod with her husband. Sakura was confused until her mother spoke again.

"We want to meet him."

**Well, hey, there ya go guys. It took me a few days, but I finally sort of planned out the plot for part two. And Sakura's parents get actually names and their Japanese too. Yay. Hopefully Seto still had his personality on par, and I tried to give Ken and Jun actually personalities instead of going with the stereotypical parent personality. Anyways, I'm gonna shut up now.**


	18. Meeting the Superiors

Sakura stood nervously in front of the Kaiba Mansion. She knocked quietly at the door and waited for a response. She couldn't even imagine his reaction. It was so unpredictable, especially from him. After a moment, the door opened up to reveal a young black-haired boy. "Oh, hi Sakura." He said. "We weren't expecting you."

"Yeah, sorry Mokuba." Sakura said. "I just need to talk to Seto."

"Oh, sure. Come in."

He opened the door more so she could walk inside. She stood next to him inside and began removing her boots and coat as Mokuba shut the door. One of the maids smiled at her as she took Sakura's coat. Upon the maid's leave, Sakura spoke. "Is Seto in his office?"

"Yep." Mokuba smiled.

"Okay, thanks." She began to make her way toward the stairs.

"Wait, Sakura?"

She turned toward him. "Yeah?"

"Are you feeling alright? You look a little pale."

She smiled at him to hide her nervousness. "I'll be alright."

He nodded as he watched her walk up the stairs. Sakura slowly climbed the steps to the second floor. She turned down the hallway and now stood in front of the dark wooden door. _There's no turning back now. It's inevitable. _Sakura silently knocked on the door and waited for a response. She heard a grunt come from the inside and decided to enter. Seto sat at his desk flipping through a large stack of papers with a document pulled up on the computer screen. Upon hearing the door open, he turned to find Sakura standing in the doorway. "Hey." He said.

She pecked him lightly on the lips. "Hi." She said. "You aren't busy, are you?"

He looked between her and his paperwork. "I can take a minute. What's the matter?"

Sakura leaned against his desk. "Remember yesterday when you dropped me off?"

"When you ran out on me? I thought you had better manners than that."

She smiled. "I know. Sorry, but I freaked out. My parents got back and I told them everything. Including about _us_."

"Why is this such a big deal?"

Sakura sighed. "They want to meet you."

Seto's eyes widened. He ran his fingers through his dark hair and sighed. No matter how inevitable this situation was, he was still caught off guard by it. "When?"

She shrugged. "They didn't say. But, my mother did suggest maybe tonight."

Seto nodded. He interlocked his fingers together and rested his chin upon them as he thought. "Alright. Bring them here at six o'clock. We'll meet with them over dinner."

Sakura wondered how he acted so calm, when she herself was on the verge of having a heart attack. But, Seto was merely putting up another one of his walls. Inside, he was panicked. Would they reject him? How would he act around them? Reserved or open? He wouldn't know.

"Well," Sakura's speech snapped Seto from his thoughts. "Thank you. I'm sure they'll like you, Seto." She was saying it more to reassure herself than him.

He nodded. "Alright. I'll see you tonight."

"Yeah." Sakura leaned closer to him and kissed him softly on the lips. She smiled as she left the mansion.

~.~.~

Once Sakura returned home, she had informed her parents of that night's plans. They had agreed to the arrangements. It was now five thirty. The trio would be leaving soon. In the hours since, Sakura had been informing her parents of the _dos _and _don'ts _of being around Seto. Including the part about his disliking for being called by his first name. Normally, any other girl would've been telling their boyfriend about their parents, not vice versa. But she knew how Seto could be sometimes. Also, she knew he had enough sense and pride on how to act around people, even if he disliked them.

Sakura stood in her bedroom finishing getting dressed. She wore an ebony dress that grazed her knees and the sleeves went slightly past her shoulders. It was fairly simple, but still held some elegance. She pinned back some loose strands of hair from her face and slipped on a pair of flats. She walked downstairs to find her father wearing a black suit and her mother wearing a deep blue dress that hugged her curves. The couple smiled at their daughter, "You look nice, sweetie." Jun said.

"Thanks." Sakura blushed.

Her father nodded. "Alright, let's go. We don't want to be late."

The trio left their home and got in the car to start their drive to the Kaiba Mansion. They soon arrived at the mansion and parked just outside the front door. Inside the home, Seto and Mokuba stood anxiously. Seto wore his usual white suit with his hands firmly in his pant pockets. Mokuba wore a simple blue dress shirt, dark pants, and a tie. Their maid stood to the side by the door waiting to take their guests burdensome garments. A knock soon was heard from the opposite end of the door and the maid stepped forward to open it. Standing in the cold was Sakura and her parents.

She smiled at Seto and hugged him as she entered. He kissed the crown of her head and turned toward her parents. Sakura stepped away from Seto briefly. "Uh, Seto, this is my mother, Jun, and my father, Ken." She introduced.

Ken outstretched his hand to Seto and the two shook hands. Sakura's father was tall, but Seto still outgrew him by about an inch. "Nice to meet you, Mister Kaiba." Ken smiled.

Seto glanced to Sakura. He was almost certain he would've been called by his first name, which he would hate. Sakura smiled at him, clarifying his suspicions. He merely nodded to her father in response. Sakura's mother peered around the room, admiring the wealth and prosperity of the home. Her eyes stopped at the dark haired boy standing next to Seto who was awkwardly looking between him and Sakura. "And who's this young man?" she asked.

Sakura looked to who she was pointing to. "Oh, this is Mokuba; Seto's little brother."

"Hi!" Mokuba smiled, knowing that he was actually getting introduced.

Sakura's parents greeted him kindly. Seto cleared his throat. "I suggest we move into the dining room."

Everyone nodded in response and followed him throughout the house. Sakura's parents couldn't help but stare in awe at the glorious setting of the place, not that they were surprised that a man this successful _could _afford it all. They stepped into the dining room were the dark wooden table was already elegantly set with the bright walls accenting it gracefully. They all sat down at the table with Seto at the head, Sakura and Mokuba at their sides, and Sakura next to her parents. The maids soon took it upon themselves to present their guests with their meals.

Dinner started off rather silently. Seto felt no use of speaking unless forced to do so. Sakura was merely waiting for the conversation to start. Her parents were trying to think of topics to question Seto in, whilst Mokuba's only concern was indulging in the plate in front of him. The silence felt no need in giving up its position. That is until…

"So, Mister Kaiba," Jun started. Seto glanced up. "I understand that you helped save our daughter's life," He nodded. "Well, then I suppose I must thank you for that."

"You're welcome." He said bluntly.

They seemed to notice his tone of voice. He of course cared for Sakura, but that didn't show within his tone. It sounded like he didn't care at all. But, he felt no desire to act emotional around them, even if they were her parents. It was hard enough being able to open up to her alone. Sakura nervously looked between her parents and him. Her body was on the verge of shaking.

"Ah, so being the president of Kaiba Corporation, then I assume you're related to Gozaburo Kaiba, yes?" her father looked at Seto. "Are you his son?"

_Dad, why did you have to bring this up? Seto surely doesn't tolerate any talk of Gozaburo. _Sakura now felt she had no one to blame but herself, since she didn't prematurely warn them about it. She stared at Seto and watched the annoyance on his face.

"Stepson." Seto corrected, "As is my brother."

Sakura sighed of relief at seeing his calm reaction. Little did she know that he was about as irritated as ever. _Where does he get off asking me that? It's none of his business! Such a topic is forbidden here. _Mokuba also seemed a bit uncomfortable with this conversation. Luckily, the subject was soon changed. "How long have you two been dating again?" Sakura's mother asked.

Sakura answered for the both of them. "A couple weeks."

She nodded. Sakura's father would continue the conversation by asking Seto of subjects related to his company, which he would respond with a short and dull answer. But, Sakura's mother would ask questions more along the lines of him himself, or that of his relationship with Sakura. He would give the same type of answer. "Mister Kaiba, I must ask," Jun said, "Do you love my daughter?"

This took Seto off guard. He couldn't bring himself to answer that. He, of course did, but he was very secluded. But, he knew he had to try and speak the words. "Yes." He murmured firmly.

Neither of them seemed convinced. Perhaps he was _too _stoic as he responded. But, he couldn't help himself. Sakura was _really _beginning to panic now. Before realizing it, she stood from the table and stalked away. _It's so hopeless. This entire thing is. _She found herself walking into the living room and leaning against one of the walls on the verge of tears.

After a few minutes, Seto worried over her. He excused himself and left the table in hopes of finding her. He heard a small sound come from the living room and headed in that direction. "Sakura?" he asked when he saw her standing there. She didn't look up. "You know, leaving abruptly at the table doesn't really meet the term of 'proper'."

This time, she looked up at him. He now noticed her watery eyes and flushed features. "Come here." He demanded, but yet in a softer tone. She took a step closer to him and he grabbed her wrist dragging her up the stairs and into one of the rooms. He shut the door behind them just so no one could listen in. "What's bothering you?" he asked.

"They're going to hate you." She murmured.

"What?"

"Seto, my parents are going to hate you!" she cried. "I can just tell. I know it's not your fault, but I know how they are, and they're not going to approve!"

She buried her face in her hands as she tried to hold in her sobs. He pulled her hands away from her face and the two merely stared at each other. Seto then pulled her close to him as she buried her face into his chest. The room fell silent, except for the sound of Sakura's panicked breathing.

"This is childish." He said. She glanced up at him. "No, _you're _being childish."

She was confused. "What?"

"Don't you know by now that no one stops me from doing what I want? And last I checked, I _want _to be with you. You're parents aren't going to change any of that."

Sakura smiled. "Really?" He nodded. "Thank you."

"Please, I'm only stating the obvious."

She let out a small laugh. "You're right."

He smiled. "You should also know that by now."

Sakura returned the smile. Seto leaned in close to her and planted a passionate kiss on her lips. Once their lips departed, both teens were grinning at each other. Sakura broke the healthy silence between them, "Uh, we should probably head back downstairs."

He nodded and the two of them exited the room and walked down the stairs. They reentered the dining room to find Sakura's parents and Mokuba sitting in silence. They looked up to see the smiling Sakura and content Seto. Both of them sat back down in their respective seats and continued eating. "What was that about, Sakura?" her mother asked.

"Oh, it was nothing." She replied.

She looked unconvinced by her daughter's answer. She looked over at her husband who shrugged at her. Jun turned her attention back to Seto. "Mister Kaiba, I think it be wise of us if we left." She stated. Seto looked up in shock, while Sakura looked nervous. Jun chuckled. "Not to be worried, I'm just making sure my daughter doesn't have another _panic fit_."

Sakura blushed and looked at her hands. Jun looked to her husband and then back at Seto. She continued, "And I think I may speak for both myself and my husband when I say this. Mister Kaiba, we'll admit, you're a bit rough around the edges," Seto frowned. "But… I see no reason why you two can't continue dating."

Ken chuckled. "Yeah, even _we _can't calm Sakura down as well as you just did."

Sakura blushed again, but smiled this time. Seto nodded. "Thank you."

Sakura's parents nodded and stood from the table. They thanked Seto for the meal and made their way to the door to grab their coats. Sakura, Seto, and Mokuba stood from the table as well. "Nice going, Nii-sama!" Mokuba congratulated.

Seto smiled as he ruffled his brother's hair. Sakura threw her arms around Seto's neck, taking him a little off guard. But, he continued to smile anyways. "Didn't I tell you not to worry about it?" He told her as he kissed the top of her head. She just smiled into his chest.

"Sakura!" her mother called from the other room.

Sakura separated from Seto and gazed into his eyes. "I guess I'll be seeing you."

He nodded.

Seto planted a light kiss on her lips before she ran off to meet with her parents. He smiled to himself before walking to the stairs and climbing them.

**So about halfway through this chap, I thought 'Huh, oh yeah, I've never been in this sort of situation before. Well… I'm f*ed.' But I did some research and I guess its fine. I also found some research on Seto's personality (romance wise) which was real helpful. Hopefully, I hope I'm also giving a pretty realistic relationship, which I wouldn't know personally… Anyways, now here's the part where I sort of lack content, well, sort of. **


	19. Calm Before The Storm

Three weeks had passed since the meeting with Sakura's parents. Seto and Sakura's relationship was going strong and things have been quiet for quite some time. Currently, Sakura stood at the door of the Kaiba Mansion. The heavy dusting of snow on the ground sparkled in the sunlight as the sound of a knocking on the front door faded into the wind. The door slowly flung open to reveal one of the maids of the mansion. Sakura had been around the mansion for so long that she had learned the names of most of the maids and butlers. This one's name was Nana. "Oh hello Sakura," she said kindly. "Please, come in."

Nana stepped out of the way so Sakura could enter. "Thank you." Sakura said. Nana nodded and closed the door gently as she blew a strand of dark hair out of her face.

"I presume you are looking for Mister Kaiba?"

Sakura nodded as she removed her coat. It was passed over into Nana's trusting hands.

"Alright, well he's up in his office. I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you."

Sakura gave a gentle smile and thanked her as she headed for the staircase. She climbed the steps carefully, but eagerly. Upon reaching the door to the office, she gave a knock to which there was no response. Sakura opened the door and walked into the office. She peered around the room and found Seto in his usual spot. He was at his desk typing away abusively at the keyboard of his computer. He hadn't noticed her enter, or gave acknowledge to the sound of the door closing.

Sakura sighed. Every time she normally came to visit, she'd find Seto in his office. But yet, he seemed to be working even harder lately. Not to say that he wasn't already a workaholic. "Seto?" Sakura asked.

Seto's blue eyes broke from their stare; losing all concentration. His eyes peered to their corners to look to the person who had disturbed him. He was confused upon see Sakura rather than his younger brother. "Sakura?" he asked. "Why are you here?"

Sakura continued to stare at him. "You don't remember?"

He shook his head. He didn't know what she was referring to.

She sighed. "You told me to come by today because you were working the other day."

Seto sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He leaned back in his chair in thought. _Now _he remembered saying that. It was a couple of days ago when Sakura claimed he had been working too often. Seto looked to Sakura apologetically. "I know what I said, but I don't have time today. I'm working on the new virtual systems and they need to be tested by the end of the month."

Sakura just stared at him. _Why must he do this? Everything seems to revolve around his work lately._

"Seto, I know your company is important, but when are you going to find time to do something _other _than that?" she questioned.

Seto sighed. "When?"

She shrugged.

Seto glanced back at his computer briefly, but then turned toward Sakura again. "Look, I'll take tomorrow off, okay? We'll do something then. Mokuba can come along too if you don't mind."

Sakura smiled. "Thank you." She said kissing him lightly.

Seto nodded. "I'll come by your house tomorrow around noon."

She nodded. "Okay, thanks again, Seto."

Seto smiled as she kissed him again. He rested his hands upon her small hips until their lips separated, much to both of their internal disappointment.

"I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow then?" Sakura said.

He nodded.

Sakura turned toward the door and walked out. Tomorrow was going to be fantastic.

~.~.~

The next morning, Sakura awoke in a better mood than most other days. Not to say that she was ever unhappy on a normal morning. She stood from her bed and stretched until she felt less fatigued. Glancing toward the clock, it read half past nine. Sakura walked to her door and headed downstairs into the kitchen. She grabbed a box of cereal from one of the cabinets and poured the dry contents into a bowl. After pouring the milky substance into the bowl, she walked to the table and began eating.

The morning went by quietly. Her parents were already at work and there was frankly nothing to do until noon. It was now past eleven o'clock. Sakura stood from the couch and headed back upstairs into her bedroom. She rummaged around her closet to try and find something decent to wear. She decided on black leggings and a burgundy top. Once she was all ready, she returned back to the main level of the home. Eagerly, she waited for any evidence of Seto appearing.

The minutes ticked by breathlessly. Nothing. Sakura glanced to the clock. It was well past twelve. _It's probably just traffic. Nothing to worry about._

Time slaughtered its way through. The minutes increased with what seemed like every second. Sakura looked up again. It was past twelve thirty now. "Any day now." She murmured.

Sakura grabbed her cell phone and dialed Seto's number. It rung endlessly. The call soon came to voicemail. She was starting to panic now. _What if something happened to him? _She shook her head. Even though he had quite a few enemies, he was too smart for them. _If _something had happened, then she was sure that she'd be alerted of it anyhow.

She looked at the clock again. It was 12:43. Sakura sighed a deep sigh and trailed into her thoughts. _What could be keeping him? Knowing Seto, he's always on time. There's nothing in the world that would keep him from anything. _Little did she know how obvious it could be. The evidence was straight there yesterday. She hadn't thought of it until now.

_Unbelievable. _She stood from her seat and began putting on her shoes and coat. _I swear… _Locking the door behind her, she set out for the Kaiba Mansion. _He is going to regret it._

**My God, I want to light myself on fire. Damn you writer's block/cliché content/lack of motivation/anything else to blame! This chapter was HARD, I don't even know why, and it SUCKED too, plus too short. I don't know why but I feel like I'm quickly losing faith in this story, but I swear I'll trudge on and finish it even if my head explodes. **


	20. Roaring Flames

Sakura feverishly knocked at the door of the Kaiba Mansion. Mokuba, from the inside, quickly rushed to the door and opened it up. His eyes widened at her expression. _Wow, she looks mad, _he thought. "Hi Sakura, is everything okay?" he asked.

Their eyes stared into each other as she spoke. "Hi Mokuba. Where's Seto?" she asked trying to sound in a better mood.

"Upstairs. Probably in his office. Why?"

Sakura stepped into the home as the young boy closed the door. She was attempting to act calmer with the younger Kaiba. "I just want to talk to him." She said impatiently.

"Oh, okay. Go right ahead."

Sakura nodded as thanks as she made her way to the stairs. Though Sakura had not realized it, Mokuba was sensing something was the matter. Just what had Seto done to upset her? He shrugged as he headed back into his bedroom. Sakura climbed the stairs hastily and headed toward the office of a certain CEO. Once standing in front of the door, she didn't even bother to knock, she just invited herself in. Her mood was preventing her from being her usual polite self.

She stepped into the office and looked around. The curtains were wide open, letting sunlight flood the room. Everything looked seemingly normal. That is, except for when she saw the computer desk. Seto was hunched over at his desk while the computer had its screen savor on. _Has he been here all night? _Sakura shook her head. _No, don't pity him._

Sakura walked up to the sleeping Seto and leaned against the desk. She nudged his arm in an attempt to wake him. Seto's eyes opened groggily and stared at the screen of his computer. _Ugh, I must have dosed off, _he thought. He reached for the mouse of the computer to continue his work, but froze upon seeing the figure of someone standing by him.

His curious eyes glanced up to see Sakura standing there leaning against the desk. From the expression written on her face, she looked quite irritated. "Sakura?" Seto questioned. She merely glared at him. He was about to ask why she was there, but stopped once he remembered. He sat up and buried his face in his hands as he sighed heavily.

He glanced up at her briefly. "Have you remembered yet?" she asked.

Seto sighed. "I'm sorry." He had to choke out the words.

Sakura continued to glare at him. "What? You're sorry for just abandoning me, for promising to do something when you're really just going to stay in your office?"

"Look, what else do you want me to say?"

"More than an apology."

Seto just stared at her. What else _could _he say?

"Seto, why is it so hard for you to just get away from your work for _at least _one day?"

Seto remained silenced. He would never admit why, if anyone knew him truly, they would know why. His childhood abuse had left him scarred. Gozaburo had made sure he was constantly working, and if he did otherwise, the torture would await him. Even after all these years, and how hard he tried, the feeling wouldn't shake him. He refused to speak of such a subject.

Seto sighed rubbing his forehead. "Just… how can I make it up to you?"

"Don't change the subject!" Sakura sighed. "Listen, I know your past was difficult, and I'm sorry for that but, it's just… can you not find time for me, or even your own brother?"

He stared into her eyes. _Have I been that neglecting of them? _But yet, he was on a dividing line. He hated the feel of not being productive in his work, but he also wanted to show that he cared for his brother and also Sakura. He buried his face within his hands and sighed deeply. "I'm not sure." He admitted.

Sakura stared at him worriedly. _I didn't know that it was that confusing for him. _She sighed a quiet sigh.

Seto stared back to her. He could tell she was frustrated with him, as was he himself. But he of course knew from experience that he couldn't change himself. Changing was an impossibility to human nature. His personality would be a forever raging battle.

"Seto?" Sakura asked.

"What?"

She wasn't sure whether to ask her next question or not. She was afraid. Afraid of what could be said. But, it had to be said. "Am I really that important to you?"

Seto was dumbfounded. Why would she ask such a question? Sure, he wasn't always open, but surely she should know the answer. "Yes." He replied.

"Well, it doesn't feel that way. It's just… what's more important to you; your work or me?"

Seto remained silent. It was her, obviously. But, he knew she wouldn't be satisfied with that answer based on his neglect lately. Yet, his feelings, not matter how true, couldn't be openly shared in such a manner.

Sakura was heartbroken by his silence. Tears began to prick at her eyes, but she held them back. _Am I really nothing towards him? _As this thought occurred, her tears began to flow over her features. Seto looked up at her to see her saddened. "Seto…" she spoke.

Seto stood from his chair to attempt and comfort her. However, once he stepped closer to her, she backed away. "Sakura," he said. "you know how I feel about you. But…"

"Just stop, alright! You're making it clear how you feel. I don't want to burden you."

"You're not listening to me…"

"What am I not listening to? How you can't say you love me because of how you are? How I'm overreacting? How…"

"Shut up!" he snapped. Sakura's eyes widened. "You know what, you _are _overreacting. You're being a complete idiot over this! Just because I don't do one thing you say, you have to act like a spoiled brat!"

The tears leaked from Sakura's eyes flowed more so now. More out of anger than anything else. "_You're_ the spoiled brat, Seto. Just because of who you are, you feel everything should go your way, and any sort of mistake someone else makes, or even your own, are caused by someone else. Even with your history with Gozaburo, that doesn't explain why you're such a jerk!"

Seto closed his eyes in frustration. "Get out of my house."

She glared at him. "Then consider us over."

Sakura turned away from him and slammed the door of his office shut. Seto rubbed his forehead angrily and turned back toward his desk. He stepped toward it and picked up the first thing he saw; his coffee mug. Without hesitation, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall. The remaining brown liquid splattered across the bright wall, along with staining some around the surrounding furniture. The pieces clattered to the ground, just in the manner his heart was.

Seto collapsed into his desk chair and buried his face in his hands. _What have I done?_

**Um… Happy Valentine's Day? All day, I've been listening to Disney songs and now I'm watching Titanic. That's probably why this chapter has so many tone shifts (it depended on the Disney song). And I had to keep reminding myself that this is Seto and Sakura speaking not Jack and Rose or Belle and the Beast. You guys can give me some ideas for them to get back together, if that, lol (I'm stuck, but I'm thinking of the mainstream way of kidnapping, but maybe not).**


	21. Trying to Forget

Sakura lay flat, face-down upon her bed. It's only been a couple of days. A couple slow, depressing, and agonizing days. Dry tears stained her cheeks, and yet, she couldn't seem to wipe them away; they'd just keep flowing. There was so much regret in her decision to part with Seto, and she felt every last bit of it. It seemed impossible to get over. She lifted her face from the sheets and turned toward the clock on her nightstand. It was a little after ten in the morning. She slumped back face-down on the bed.

A few moments later, someone knocked at the door to her bedroom. Sakura became instantly irritated. _I thought I told them I wanted to be alone. _Before Sakura opened her mouth, Jun opened the door and stepped inside. She stared at her daughter and sighed deeply. "Sakura, you need to get up." She said standing next to the bed.

"No." the response came out muffled.

Jun looked at the tissue box that usually stood on Sakura's dresser. It was empty. She put her hands on her hips and looked sternly at her daughter. "Sakura, you can't keep moping over him. There'll be others."

_Why do people always say that?, _Sakura thought. "Mom, no, there won't. There's nobody like him."

"Sakura, look at me." Sakura buried her face further into the sheets. Jun saw it as no choice but to push her daughter over onto her back. Sakura looked up at her mother, upset with being disturbed. Jun sat down next to her on the bed and sighed once more. "Dear, if you really were _that _unhappy with Seto," the mention of him by name caused tears to well up in Sakura's eyes. "then why are you crying over him?"

"I _wasn't _unhappy with him. I _was _happy… I loved him."

Jun let out a pitying, but soothing sound. "Well, I'm sure he must feel the same way about you. I mean, when we met him, at least _I _knew that he was just… perfect for you. He really seemed to love you, and I don't think a man like that would fake that. If he _really_ loved you, then he'll come around. Just give it time."

Sakura sighed. "I just want to be alone now."

Jun slowly nodded and stood up. "Alright, but I'll be right downstairs."

Sakura blankly stared at the ceiling as her mother left the room. Once she was gone, a few tears slid down Sakura's face. She shut her eyes tightly and clamped her teeth together to keep herself silent. _If he really loved me, then he'd come back? No, he couldn't even say he loved me, except the once. That may be the case for other people, but not him._

Sakura wiped away a couple of tears. _But, maybe… is Mom right? Should I bother to cry over him? Perhaps not but… I'm afraid I won't get myself to stop anyways. He's gone too deep in my heart. _

~.~.~

Mokuba walked upstairs slowly, but anxiously. He stopped near the closed door of his brother's office. He took a deep breath before opening the door. Once he stepped inside, he peered around and noticed the curtains were drawn back and the computer screen was lit up in the corner of the room. Seto sat clicking away at it. "Big brother?" Mokuba asked.

"What is it, Mokuba?" Seto hissed.

Mokuba stepped closer to his brother. Once up close, he could see the dark circles around Seto's eyes and his skin was paler than usual. It was an unhealthy pale. "I thought you were going into Kaiba Corp. today."

"I changed my mind." The truth was that Seto was ashamed of himself. Ashamed of how he looked; of how weak he was. But, the only way to forget about Sakura was to indulge in his work. He would barely sleep anymore; it would only give him time to think about her.

"Oh. Well, when was the last time you slept?"

Seto shrugged.

"What about eating?"

"Don't know."

Mokuba gasped. "What? Why are you doing this, Seto? What about Sakura? Does she know you're doing this?"

"We broke up."

"Huh?"

"You heard me."

"Is this why you're doing this? Are you that depressed over losing her?"

Seto peered at his brother and glared at him. "She means nothing to me, Mokuba. Sakura's out of my way where she belongs. Now I have work to do."

"No! You're not going to work yourself to death! You can't-!"

"I can do whatever I want, Mokuba!"

Seto was now standing with his hands slammed onto the desk, while glaring hard at his brother. Mokuba stepped back from his brother on the verge of tears. He hated being yelled at by Seto, especially when it was over the matter of his own health. Mokuba tried his best to glare through his sadness.

"Fine, Seto. But don't cry to me when you're dying of starvation!" Mokuba ran out of the room as fast as possible, slamming the door behind him. He hated speaking that way to Seto; it was awful to say. But, he needed help. And he'd have to go to the farthest lengths to get it for him.

~.~.~

Another week and a half dragged on. Sakura had stopped her constant crying, but still felt much sadness from it all. She sat in her bedroom reading a book to keep her mind off of things. Yet, she couldn't concentrate on the words in front of her. _It's been two weeks, Seto obviously is happy with the decision of us splitting up. But then why can't I move on? He's always in the front of my mind, no matter what I do. _

She snapped from her thoughts as she heard her cell phone ring. She set the book down and reached over for the phone on her nightstand. She pressed the button and brought it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hi Sakura, its Mokuba." The voice said.

"Mokuba? What's going on? Did something happen?"

"Well, sort of. It's about Seto."

_Oh no. _"What about Seto?"

"He's barely been eating or sleeping at all for the past two weeks. I was hoping maybe you could help."

"How? I doubt he'd want to see me."

"I know but… you made him so happy before, so I just thought you could convince him to take care of himself. This is a lot to ask, but please, I don't like seeing my brother like this."

Sakura could sense the sadness and disappointment in his voice. She sighed. "Alright, I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you Sakura! I really owe you!"

"Yeah, I'll be over in a little bit. Bye."

She hung up and set her phone back on her nightstand. She stood from her bed and then noticed she was still in her pajamas, although it was the middle of the afternoon. She walked to her closet and put on a pair of jeans and an ivory sweater. She then headed downstairs where her mother stood in the kitchen. "Mom, I'm going out alright?"

"Okay. Where to?"

Sakura hesitated. "… Seto's house."

"What?"

"Yeah, he's… having some issues."

Jun didn't seem satisfied with her response. She soon sighed though. "Alright, but just be careful around him."

"Okay. I'll be back soon."

Sakura started off toward the Kaiba Mansion. After the long walk, she finally came to the gates of the mansion. She punched in the code and was allowed access. She made her way to the front door and knocked. Mokuba quickly answered the door and invited her in. "So, why is he being like this?" she asked him while removing her jacket.

"I don't know. I guess it's from your guy's break up, maybe. He's gotten so bad that he locked his office door."

"Don't you have a key?"

"Yeah," he held up the small, silver key to her. "But, I don't even want to go in there anymore… You may need this though." He handed the key over to her. "I really appreciate this by the way."

"It's no problem." Although she wasn't exactly comfortable with the thought of seeing Seto again. She walked past Mokuba and headed up the stairs toward the office. She brought the small key to the lock and turned it. The door opened and light flooded the room. Sakura gasped at the sight of the room. The curtains were drawn back so it was kept dark, papers were scattered across the floor, though more prominently around the desk, the computer screen was blaring, but the man occupying it was face down on the keyboard. Seto's eyes twitched upon feeling the light enter the room.

Sakura walked over to the curtains and opened them up, causing the afternoon light to blaze inside. Seto opened his eyes groggily and rubbed the fatigue out of them. He looked to the source of the bright light and was now fully awake of who he saw. "What are you doing here?" he hissed.

Now that light filled the room, Sakura could truly see him. The large dark circles around his eyes made the icicles in his eyes dull. He was thin, thinner than usual, and his skin was growing even whiter by the day. She was mortified. "Mokuba told me you're not eating or sleeping."

Seto turned back towards his computer to wake it up. "Why should you care?"

"Because Mokuba- I'm worried about you! It's unhealthy, Seto-!"

"Don't call me Seto."

She was about to comply, but thought otherwise. _He'll just keep ignoring me; it's the only way to grab his attention. _"Listen Seto…"

"What did I just say?"

"I don't care, you're not listening! Just please, Seto, you can't do this to yourself. Is this really how you want to be? Watch that ego of yours collapse upon being hospitalized under sleep deprivation and starvation?"

Seto tried to ignore her, but felt her words grow deeper inside of him. He hated this form of himself, but felt it was the only way to forget her. Yet, here she was, right in front of him, and all he could do was ignore her. The room grew ever silent for a matter of minutes, each person not sure what to say.

"It's because of me, isn't it?"

Seto looked up at her shocked. Sakura was looking at him sadly, looking for some sort of response. _I can't say that to her, _Seto thought, _she isn't worth my time anymore. We've already established that. _"Leave me alone. I don't need you here." He said.

Sakura silently gasped. _What did he just say? _"No, Seto. I can't just let myself leave and then watch you die. Even if I'm angry with you, I don't want to see you die."

He shot a glare at her. "I'd rather die alone than have you pestering me all the time."

Hot tears started to come down Sakura's face. Her hand reached to the book shelf next to her and grabbed a novel upon it. In anger, she threw it right in the direction of Seto, hitting the wall, just barely missing his computer screen. Seto stared in shock at her. "Fine! If that's how you feel, then I'll just leave! Go and work yourself to death and see if I care!"

"I'm sorry I ever wasted my time on you." Seto retorted. "I never realized you were so easy to hate."

Sakura walked quickly to the door and grasped the doorknob. She glanced back to Seto briefly, "And I'm sorry I ever loved you."

With that said, she ran out of the room. Sakura stood outside the office door and wiped away a couple of tears. She walked to the stairs where Mokuba stood at the bottom of them. She placed the office key into his hand and shook her head at him. Mokuba looked devastated and stared at the ground as she left.

Seto watched the door, still envisioning her standing there staring at him. Her comment hurt him, but he held it back. _No, she's not worth anything of me anymore. Get out of my life where you belong, Sakura. _Though as he thought this, he slammed his hands into the desk and wanted to yell.

**Huh, look at that, a sort of long chapter. And not to worry, things might get better. Might. Even though you guys wouldn't care, I'm gonna say it anyway, I got new glasses yesterday (haven't worn glasses in like 4 years, 'cause I hate them mightily) and I was like 'dang, this computer screen is bright, and clear'. Not to say that I couldn't see what I was doing before, but it helps.**


	22. Ripped to Pieces

Seto sat clicking away at his computer in the Kaiba Corporation building. Within the week that had pasted, he'd gotten quite a bit better. He was tired of how weak he looked and tired of how people were pestering him over it, more specifically his brother. He ate and slept more to a healthy degree, but still on the relatively on the boundary line between unhealthy or not. But, even with these changes, he still found himself indulged in his work. Mokuba entered the office with two mugs in hand. He walked around the desk and stood next to his brother. "Here, Seto." He said holding out the coffee mug.

"Thank you, Mokuba." He said grabbing the mug and taking a sip.

"No problem." Mokuba took a sip of his own mug, which contained a warm chocolaty liquid. He was certainly happy with his brother's recent change in mood. He was more like his usual self.

He watched Seto work, while taking occasional glances out of the large window. He soon turned back toward his brother. "Hey, Seto?"

"What?"

"Have you ever considered getting back together with Sakura?"

"I thought we already discussed this."

"Yeah, but that was a week ago."

Seto sat back in his chair and massaged his temples. He had thought of Sakura often, but he kept convincing himself that she wasn't worth it. They hadn't spoken since their last fight, and he had no interest in starting another one. "I haven't changed my mind."

"Oh, okay." Seto glanced briefly to his brother to see the disappointment in his eyes.

"Why are you so intent on speaking about this?"

Mokuba shrugged. "I just don't like seeing you guys broken up. You've been apart for almost a month and it's just… she made you happy. And I can see that in you, you secretly miss her."

"That doesn't matter."

He sighed. "Alright, I understand… I guess."

Seto nodded. "Right, now can I get on with my work?"

Mokuba nodded and started to the leather couch in the corner of the room. He sat there silently as he watched his brother work. While working, Seto's mind kept drifting. _Do I miss her? Could I still… have feelings for her? Snap out of it! You don't need her anymore! _He shook his head to rid of these thoughts.

~.~.~

Sakura walked upstairs to her bedroom and rummaged through her closet. She put on a lavender sweater and a pair of dark pants. She was in a better mood now than she had been for the past couple of days; she felt like her usual self. But, secretly, she still found herself thinking about Seto often and still hadn't gotten fully over the breakup.

After getting dressed, Sakura headed back downstairs and found herself gazing out the window. The snow blew dustily in the breeze like a desert haze. There was still a large abundance of the white flurries packed onto the ground and just by looking outside, Sakura could already feel the cold. She turned from the window and headed into the living room and sitting on the couch. She picked up a book and began to read. It was peaceful doing so because the house was quiet, due to her parents being at work.

After nearly a half hour, Sakura looked up. The house almost felt _too _quiet to her. Not that this silence was any different from how it is when she's usually home alone. She glanced over to the front door upon hearing a knock coming from it. _Who could that be? We didn't invite anyone over. _Sakura stood up and set her book down to go answer it. She unlocked the door and peered outside. There, stood a man warmly dressed for the cold. Due to this, it was difficult to see his face. "Can I help you?" she asked.

The man remained silent. Sakura raised an eyebrow and was about to ask again, but not before the man sprinted forward and shoved the door wide open. Sakura leaped backwards as he entered her home. She scrambled into the living room to try and find some way to defend herself. Her eyes quickly shot to the stairs and she ran for them. _If I can grab my phone upstairs, I can call the police! _As she went to rush up the stairs, the man was quickly behind her. She was about halfway up the stairs until a hand gripped onto her ankle and sent her falling onto the steps. Sakura struggled to crawl her way upstairs, but the man dragged her down onto the ground floor. She went to get back up, but the man grabbed a hold of her wrist and pulled her to her feet. Sakura screamed and thrashed around as the man's arm went around her waist. Even with all of her kicking and screaming, there was no way she'd escape. She opened her mouth to scream again, but then felt a cloth go over her mouth. It was slightly damp, and she breathed in the sweet scent of the liquid. _Wh-what is this? Wait… no! Chloroform! _ Stupidly, she couldn't get herself to stop breathing in the fumes.

Sakura's vision became spotty and she felt her body growing weaker by the second. "St-stop… n-no." she slurred through the cloth.

"Shh," the man soothed. His undertone was dreadful.

"Pl-please…"

Sakura felt her legs grow weak until finally they collapsed from under her. She felt herself hit the ground as everything faded to black.

~.~.~

The morning had gone by well for Seto. His reports were finished and his employees weren't driving him to insanity as usual. He sat at his computer like always and just finished another line of codes. A knock came from the closed doorway and entered when Seto allowed access. It was Roland. "Mister Kaiba, I'm afraid I have some devastating news." He said nervously.

Seto glanced sharply to his advisor. "What is it?"

"There's been an incident… Miss Takahashi is missing."

Seto stood from his desk and shut off his computer. He put on his coat as he walked past Roland out the doorway. "Cancel any of my meetings for today."

"Yes, sir." Roland said bowing as Seto entered the elevator.

Seto waited for the elevator to hit the ground floor. He couldn't find the answer within himself about why he cared or why the matter was so urgent to him. _Maybe I do still care for her… _He shook his head as the elevator dinged. He headed out of the building and entered his limo. Upon reaching the Takahashi residence, he saw that there were already police at the scene. He stepped out of the limo and looked around. He glanced over to see Jun sitting on the porch wiping tears away from her eyes. "What happened here?" he asked her.

Jun looked up in shock. "M-Mister Kaiba?"

He nodded. "What happened to her?"

Jun sighed heavily. "I-I don't know. She was taken. The neighbor called the police upon hearing screaming." She wiped away another tear. "The police sent out a report of the kidnapping, but they don't have any leads."

"Kaiba?"

Seto looked up seeing Sakura's father stepping out onto the porch. Seto looked to both of them. "I'll find her, and whoever took her, I'll make them pay until they hit their grave."

The couple smiled toward him. "Thank you." Ken said.

Seto nodded and headed back toward his limo. He stepped inside and directed his driver back to Kaiba Corp. Somehow, he had a feeling that this kidnapping was because of him. Someone that he knew. Upon reaching Kaiba Corp. again he stepped inside and found Roland once again. "How'd it go, sir?" Roland asked.

"Get my jet ready, I'll need it." Seto instructed.

"Where to, sir?"

"The United States."

~.~.~

Kaiba jumped down from his Blue-Eyes Jet and walked upon the roof of the building he was on. Industrial Illusions. He went into the elevator and punched the button for the floor that the CEO was on. Once there, he stormed into the office of the man and burst through the door. "Oh, Kaiba-Boy, how unexpected!" The man with long silver hair, wearing his classic red suit, was grinning ear-to-ear at the young brunet.

"Cut the trash, Pegasus, I know you took her."

"Hm, I'm afraid I have no idea who you're referring to."

"Don't play dumb. I know you're the one who kidnapped Sakura."

"Sakura? Oh! I suppose that's that little girlfriend of yours. I'm surprised you had the heart to start settling down, Kaiba-Boy!"

Seto couldn't get himself to stop glaring. "Do you take me for an idiot? Don't lie to me, you buffoon! Tell me where she is before I really get angry!"

"I'm sorry, but you have me mistaken. Your friend's disappearance has nothing to do with me. After all the years we've known each other, how could you accuse me of such a thing? You're breaking my heart Kaiba-Boy!"

Seto stared intently at the man. He'd hate to admit it, but Pegasus wasn't lying. He really _didn't _know where Sakura could be. Seto growled as he swiftly turned to the door and left. He reached his jet back on the roof and stepped inside. As he piloted it back to Domino, his mind was in other places. Just who was the kidnapper? Seto knew it was one of his enemies, but which one? Any former employers would be out of the question; they didn't know anything about Sakura. Seto began to think back to his past. Schroeder Corporation? _No, they stopped hunting us years ago. _The Big Five? _Pft, as if. They're gone. Besides, they wouldn't know the first thing about kidnapping. _Noah? _Wrong, that kid is as good as dead._

But, who was left? Any other past enemy he had was either dead or already defeated. Just as Seto was contemplating this, his phone began to ring. He clicked the jet onto autopilot and picked up his cell phone. "What is it?"

"Ah, Mister Kaiba, it's been a while hasn't it?" a disguised voice said. Seto didn't know what, but somehow, the voice was familiar, even if disguised.

"Who is this?"

"Now, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves. But… I have your friend."

"Where is she?"

"Come to Domino Pier… alone. If not, she might not survive the day."

"Don't hurt her, you-!"

The person had hung up. Seto was now more enraged and worried than ever. _Whoever he is, he'll be dead as soon as I get there._

**Yes, _who _is this mysterious kidnapper? And why would he kidnap Sakura? Why do I have a Snow Day today? Why am I asking you all these questions? And why do I sound like the narrator at the end of a Dragonball Z episode? These questions might be answered in the next chapter of… this!**


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